


Not That Evil

by Firewhisperer13



Series: Descendants Series [1]
Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Disney, Gen, Isle of the Lost (Disney), United States of Auradon (Disney)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-16
Updated: 2015-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:34:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 24,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24740098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Firewhisperer13/pseuds/Firewhisperer13
Summary: Hera was born the daughter of the Queen of Hearts, a cold and vicious woman who shuts out her daughter and has heads adorning her wall. Hera's only friends are the four other kids she lives with; Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos. When the five of them are given the opportunity to go and stay in Auradon for a while, Hera gladly accepts. But there's more on the line than just fitting in, and if she doesn't pull it off, Hera knows it's off with her head! All Rights Reserved, Disney 2015
Series: Descendants Series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1788964
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

_So I got some mischief in my blood._

_Can you blame me?_

_I never got no love..._

As I walked through the crowd of people, they all screamed and parted, in hopes of keeping my anger at bay. Almost everyone here was terrified of me, and usually on the Isle of the Lost, that's a good thing.

But if they knew why I was so mean and scary, they wouldn't fear me anymore.

I found my friends standing around in our usual group, talking to some other people who lived here. As soon as I came over, they all ran away, or at least, that's what I thought. My purple-haired friend turned around with a bittersweet smile on her face.

"Hmm. Hi, Mom." Confused, I turned around to see two men in brown rags towering over me, and I squeaked in fear before running and grabbing onto my best friend in the group- a boy named Carlos. A woman with horns on her head and a flowing purple dress parted the men and glared at her daughter. 

"Stealing candy, Mal?" My eyes flickered down to the green lollipop in Mal's hand. "I'm so disappointed."

"It was from a baby," she informed Maleficent.

"Ah! That's my nasty little girl." She took the treat from her daughter's hand, spit on it, crushed it in her armpit, and handed it to one of her lackeys. "Give it back to the dreadful creature." I glanced up at the daughter of the Evil Queen- Evie- and crinkled my nose in disgust.

"Mom-"

"It's the deets, Mal, that make the difference between mean and truly evil. When I was your age, I was cursing entire kingdoms."

"'Cursing entire kingdoms.'" I didn't understand how Mal could sass her mother like that. If it were my mother, I'd be quivering in the mere presence of her. My legs were shaking just from being in the presence of Mal's mother. 

"You. Walk with me." Maleficent pulled her daughter to the side, and I glanced at the others.

"Hera, you look like you're about to throw up," Jafar's son pointed out.

"Wow, thanks, Jay," I deadpanned. "I needed that. Now I feel _so_ much better."

"Come on, man," Carlos sighed. "Leave her alone. You know what Hera's been through.

"Oh! There's news!" I jumped at the abrupt shouting from Maleficent. "I buried the lede. You five have been chosen-" She pointed her bony finger at each one of us. "-to go to a different school... in Auradon." A lackey suddenly grabbed me around my waist, and I seized up in panic. My vision went blurry and my breathing got shorter as I did the only thing I knew how to do: scream at the top of my lungs and thrash wildly.

"Let go of me!" I cried. "Don't touch me! Please! Don't hurt me!" Mal saw what was going on with me and ordered the lackeys to let us go, and my hands found their way back to Carlos' arm as I calmed down.

"What? I'm not going to some boarding school filled to the brim with prissy pink princesses!" Mal argued.

"And perfect princes," Evie gushed. We all started at her judgmentally, and she backed off. "Ugh."

"Yeah. And I don't do uniforms," Jay interjected. "Unless it's leather. You feel me?"

"I read somewhere that they allow dogs in Auradon." Carlos got closer to Maleficent to make his point, dragging me with him, much to my dismay. "Mom said they're rabid pack animals who eat boys who don't behave." Jay came up behind him and barked, scaring Carlos into running back, leaving me standing before Maleficent. A light sweat pricked my skin as she rested her green-eyed gaze on me.

"And what about you?" She drawled. "Do _you_ have any reason you shouldn't do?"

"N-no, m-m-ma'am!" I quivered before running back to Carlos.

"Well, mom, we're not going," Mal protested.

"Oh, you're thinking small, pumpkin. It's all about world domination. Knuckleheads!" She turned to storm away, and the lackeys followed, leaving the five of us behind. "Mal!" The girl jumped and followed her mother, and after glancing at each other, we all did the same.

Even though I wouldn't admit it out loud, I couldn't _wait_ to leave this place, even if it meant going to the epitome of perkiness and royalty. It was so much better than the horrible memories that haunted me here.


	2. Chapter 2

I stood leaning against a wall, praying my mother wouldn't hear the commotion and come out to 'say goodbye.' Meanwhile, Maleficent attempted to force her daughter to obey her.

"You will go, you will find the Fairy Godmother, and you _will_ bring me back her wand. Easy peasy."

"What's in it for us?" Mal snapped.

"Matching thrones. Hers-and-hers crowns." Her daughter rolled her eyes.

"Um, I-I think she meant us," Carlos clarified, gesturing to the five of us. Maleficent beckoned and Mal stepped closer.

"It's all about you and me, baby. Do you enjoy watching innocent people suffer?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, who doesn't-"

"Well then get me the wand and you will see all that, and so much more. And with that wand and my scepter, I will be able to bend good and evil to my will!"

"Our will," the Evil Queen cut in.

"Our will, our will." She fluttered her hand to signify that she didn't really care, then snapped her fingers and moved her head closer to Mal's face. "And if you refuse, you're grounded for the rest of your life, missy." 

"What? Mom-" Maleficent snapped her fingers again, and her eyes suddenly glowed green, and she and Mal engaged in some sort of magic staring contest, or something like that. In the end, Maleficent won, and Mal caved. "Fine. Whatever."

"I win."

"Evie!" The blue-haired girl ran over and sat in front of her mother, bubbly and bouncy as usual. "My little evil-ette in training. You just find yourself a prince with a big castle and a mother-in-law wing."

"And lots and lots of mirrors," they both finished. Evie giggled and clapped her hands.

"No laughing. Wrinkles."

"Oh. Well, they're not taking my Carlos," Cruella De Vil stated. "Because I'd miss him too much."

"Really mom?" Carlos' face brightened, but it was only for a second. 

"Yes. Who would touch up my roots, fluff my fur, and scrape the bunions off my feet." She kicked up one of her legs into Carlos' arms and he rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, maybe a new school wouldn't be the worst thing."

"Oh, Carlos. They have dogs in Auradon."

"Oh, no! I'm not going!" He scurried over to me and I patted his shoulder in sympathy.

"Well, Jay isn't going either!" I turned my attention to Jafar. "I need him to stock the shelves in my store." He then pressed Jay for what he managed to steal, much to the annoyance of Maleficent.

"Evie's not going anywhere until we get rid of this unibrow, hmm?"

"What is wrong with you all?" The evil fairy stepped down from her corner and approached four out of her five fellow villains. "People used to cower at the mention of our names! For twenty years, I have searched for a way off this island. For twenty years, they have robbed us of our revenge- revenge on Snow White and her horrible little men."

"Ow!"

"Revenge on Aladdin and his bloated genie."

"I will-"

"Revenge on every sneaky dalmatian that escaped your clutches."

"Oh, but they didn't get the baby." She squeaked the small dog she had killed and stuffed while cackling. "They didn't get the- they didn't get the baby!"

"And I, Maleficent- the evilest of them all, will finally have my revenge on Sleeping Beauty and her relentless little prince. Villains!"

"Yes?" I shut my eyes and internally groaned as my mother exited her room and approached Maleficent, glaring at me all the way.

"Our day has come. E.Q., give her the magic mirror."

"Yeah." Evie's mom handed her a tiny pocket mirror, and I raised an eyebrow. That was it?

"This is your magic mirror?" Evie seemed as disappointed as I was.

"Yeah, well it ain't what it used to be. But then again, neither are we!" Maleficent and the Evil Queen laughed at the joke. "It will help you find things."

"Like a prince?"

"Like my waistline."

"Like the magic wand! Hello!"

"Hello."

"My spell book. My book. I need my-that book." The Evil Queen pointed behind her at the refrigerator and freezer. "Oh. Ah! The safe. The safe." She began pounding on the freezer and I rolled my eyes. "Queen, help me! I never can figure this thing out." Evie's mom stood and opened it with the handle.

"Voil."

"My spell- come darling, come." She removed it from the freezer as Mal made her way over. "Oh-Ooh! Oh, oh!" Maleficent tossed it around a bit until it was warm enough to touch. "There she is. It doesn't work here, but it will in Auradon. Remember? When we were spreading evil and ruining lives."

"Like it was yesterday."

"And now you will be making your own memories-" Mal tried to reach for the book, but her mother pulled it away. "-by doing exactly as I tell you." She slapped it into her daughter's hands. "Door."

"Oh." A horn honked, our signal that it was time to go.

"Woo-hoo! Let's get this party started!"

"Carlos! Come."

"Who is the fairest of them all?"

"Me?" Evie realized her mistake. "You."

"Yes! Let's go." I tried to sneak out through my group of friends, and got so close to the door before my mother saw me.

"Hera!" I stopped dead in my tracks and whipped around. Her black, soulless eyes stared into my red ones. "You're going to a new place?" I could feel myself shaking.

"Um... y-yes mo-mother..." I looked down at my feet.

"Look at me!" My head snapped back up. "I don't approve of you going to Auradon. I can't keep a close watch on you there." 

_That's the point_ , I thought.

"Please, mama," I begged. "Everyone else is going. Carlos is going, and you know I need him around me. Please." She pursed her lips and stood up straight, tapping her cheek with a gloved finger.

"Fine. But you must help Mal in bringing us the wand." I gulped and nodded, not wanting to endear her wrath. "And if you fail... you'll be my newest head on the wall..." I shuddered and ran out of the house, quickly jumping into the limo and curling up against Carlos, trembling.

I couldn't join my sisters on that wall.


	3. Chapter 3

Once the limo took off, the five of us noticed a wall of seemingly hundreds of different types of candy. After a brief glance at each other, Jay and Carlos lunged for the foreign treats. Carlos moving so suddenly nearly launched me into the window, due to the fact that I was curled up against him. They greedily shoved almost every kind of candy into their mouths. Evie pulled some sort of makeup brush from her bag and attempted to put some on Mal's face, who swiftly pushed her hand away.

"You're looking a little washed out. Let me help you out."

"Ew, stop," Mal ordered. "I'm plotting."

"Well, it's not very attractive." Carlos unwrapped a brown candy from gold foil and bit down on half of it, and cried out in joy.

"Oh!" He pounded on Jay's arm to get his attention. "These! They're salty like nuts, but it's sweet like I don't know what."

"Let me see." Taking the phrase literally, Carlos opened his mouth wide, much to everyone's dismay. "Ew." He hit Carlos and took the half from his hands.

"Ow!"

"That was _real_ attractive, Carlos," I drawled. Mal picked up a remote that she found next to her, and out of pure curiosity, pushed one of the buttons, which brought down the window cover separating us from the driver. Evie looked out, but suddenly gasped.

"Look!" We all peeked over to look out the front window, and saw the fancy car moving straight off the edge of the Isle. Fear gripped me and I began to panic.

"It's a trap!" Carlos cried. We all screamed and I curled into a ball, waiting for the deathly impact...

...but oddly enough, it never came. I opened my eyes and saw that we were driving on some sort of bridge, seemingly made of golden dust. I gasped, shocked.

"It must be magic," Evie smiled, practically bouncing. Mal looked down at a remote in her hands, then turned to face the driver.

"Hey!" She tapped the remote, getting his attention. He looked at us through the mirror above his head. "Did this-" she placed her finger on one of the buttons. "-button just open the magic barrier?"

"No." He held up another, cream colored remote with two buttons. "This button opens the magic barrier. _That_ one opens my garage." He placed his finger on a button above his head. "And this one..." He pushed it down and the barrier between us and him came back.

"Uh, okay," Mal laughed, turning back around. "Nasty. I like him."

I rolled my eyes and relaxed, enjoying the ride to Auradon.  
  
After, probably, another hour of driving, we finally arrived at our destination, a school named Auradon Prep. Carlos and Jay had been fighting over something for the past ten minutes, and even after we opened the door, they tumbled out, still arguing over it. Mal, Evie, and I stepped over them. They were screeching like gryphons and yanked on it.

"Guys? Guys!" They stopped fighting and looked at Mal. "We have an audience," she hissed.

A bubbly, short, brunette-haired woman looked at us.

"Leave it like you found it," she told them in a sing song voice. "And by that I mean leave it."

Jay and Carlos dropped the things they were holding and stood next to us. I focused my attention on the two boys standing next to her, and the one girl. Jay noticed the girl and walked up to her.

"Hi there," he murmured, "name's Jay."

She laughed awkwardly and Jay backed away.

"Welcome to Auradon Prep," the short lady greeted. "My name is Fairy Godmother, and I'm the headmistress." Mal's attention was piqued.

" _The_ Fairy Godmother? As is bibbidi-bobbidi-boo?"

"Bibbidi-bobbidi," she nodded. "You know it."

"Yeah. You know I've always wondered when it felt like for Cinderella when you just appeared with that sparkly wand, and big smile... and that sparkly wand."

"That was a long time ago. And as I say, 'don't focus on the past, or you'll miss the future.'" The two boys and the girl stepped forward, and the taller of the two spoke.

"It's so nice to finally meet you all," he smiled. "I'm Ben."

I was listening, but my attention was fully focused on the other boy. He looked my age, which amazed me. I'd never seen another kid, besides Carlos, who was my age.

" _Prince_ Benjamin," the girl squealed. "Soon to be king." Evie stepped forward, dazed.

"You had me at 'prince.' My mom's a queen, which makes me a princess."

"The Evil Queen has no royal status here. And neither do you." Prince Ben chuckled awkwardly.

"This is Audrey."

" _Princess_ Audrey," she interjected. "His girlfriend. Right, Bennyboo?" I laughed internally. _Bennyboo?_ Was she for real?

"Ben and Audrey are gonna show you all around, and I'll see you all tomorrow." Fairy Godmother shoved their hands apart and walked forward. "The doors of wisdom are never shut! But the library hours are from eight to eleven, and as you may have heard, I have a little thing about curfews." She walked away, then Ben continued speaking.

"Oh, uh, this is my younger brother, Prince Jonothan."

Evie huffed at the mention of 'younger,' and I laughed, which caused everyone to look at me. Prince Jonothan took notice and walked over to me.

"Hello. I'm Prince Jonothan. But, uh, you can call me Jon." He stuck out his hand and I flinched, retreating towards Mal in fear. Prince Jonothan and Prince Ben glaned at each other in confusion, and Mal attempted a vague explanation.

"She's been thought a lot more than any of the rest of us have, and sometimes the littlest things can trigger a negative reaction for her." They nodded and Prince Jonothan extended his hand slowly this time. "It's okay, Hera. He's just going to shake it. Go ahead and introduce yourself." I took his hand, but instead of shaking mine, he knelt down and kissed my knuckles. Not used to the gesture, I yanked my hand back and stuttered out an introduction

"H-He-Hera," I sighed. "Daughter of the Queen of Hearts."

"Well that explains all the black and red," he chuckled. I couldn't help but crack a smirk.

This was going to be a long day.


	4. Chapter 4

Prince Ben approached Jay.

"It is so, so, so good to finally me-" Jay punched Ben in the stomach at the offer of a handshake. "-meet you all."

Ben moved on from Jay to Mal. She had a stern, cold look on her face, almost like she was about to kill someone. And yet, she took Ben's hand and shook it. He lingered on her touch, staring into her green eyes, time seeming frozen.

"This is a momentous occasion." Ben still held onto Mal's hand as he moved on to Carlos, until she yanked his hand away. "And one that I hope will go down in history..." Ben shook Carlos' hand for a brief second, then removed it and licked his fingers. "Is that chocolate?" He moved on to shake Evie and my hands quickly. "...as the day our two peoples began to heal."

"Or the day you showed five peoples where the bathrooms are," Mal joked. Ben walked over and looked her in the eyes yet again.

"A little bit over the top?" He asked.

"A little more than a little bit," I interjected, chuckling.

"Well, so much for my first impression." The three of us laughed at the joke. Maybe things here wouldn't be so bad.

"Hey! You're Maleficent's daughter, aren't you?" Audrey butt in.

 _Oh this isn't going to end well,_ I thought. Mal nodded and Audrey continued.

"Yeah, you know what? I totally do not blame you for your mother trying to kill my parents and stuff." Mal's eyes went wide and I sighed.

"Oh boy," Prince Jon muttered.

"Get the guards ready," I joked. We both looked at each other and chuckled.

"Oh, my mom's Aurora." She looked right at Mal. "Sleeping-"

"-Beauty," Mal cut in. "Yeah, I've heard the name. You know, and I totally do not blame your grandparents for inviting everyone, but my mother, to their stupid christening."

"Water under the bridge."

"Totes!"

They both forcibly laughed, and ended on an awkward sigh, something I found really annoying. I glanced at Jon and rolled my eyes, and he smirked.

"Okay!" Ben clapped his hands together, breaking the moment. "So, how about a tour?"

"Sure. I've got nothing better to do," I sighed.

"Alright! So, Auradon Prep. Built over three-hundred years ago and converted into a high school by my father when he became king." We followed Ben, Mal leading, into a small garden. A large bronze statue of a man stood in the center. Ben clapped his hands, and the statue morphed into a beast like figure. Carlos screamed and lept into my arms.

"Jeez, you're heavy," I gasped. He clung to my neck and I rolled my eyes.

"Carlos, it's okay. My father wanted his statue to morph from beast to man to show us that anything is possible."

"Does he shed much?" Mal asked.

"Yeah, mom won't let him on the couch," he joked.

The others kept walking, and I let Carlos down, taking his hand. I was pretty nervous about going to a new school, whether I let it show or not. He lingered and stared at the statue, afraid, then dashed after the others, pulling me along with him. We entered the actual building, and what I saw was astounding. It was a large building with carved, oaken staircases and large windows, along with a large, grey carpet spreading across the floor.

"So, do you guys have a lot of magic in Auradon?" Mal asked. "Like wands and stuff like that?"

"Yeah, it exists," Ben replied. "But it's pretty much retired. Most of us here are just ordinary mortals."

"Who just happen to be kings and queens."

"That's true!" Audrey chimed in. I rolled my eyes at her obvious self-obsession, but inside, I was trembling. She didn't seem too thrilled to have any of us around, which made me nervous. "Our royal blood goes back hundreds of years." Audrey wrapped Ben's arm around her shoulders and they both giggled, but Ben's seemed more forced.

"Doug, Doug come down." Ben removed his arm and gestured to a boy coming down the stairs. He came down and stood near us. "This is Doug. He's gonna give you your class schedules and show you the rest of the dorms." He stepped closer. "I'll see you later, okay? And if there is anything you need, feel free to-"

"-ask Doug!" Audrey cut in. She and Mal did that annoying laugh-sigh thing, and then Audrey grabbed Ben's arm and led him away.

"Jon, come on," Ben called back to his brother.

Jon focused his frost blue eyes into my red ones, then quickly kissed my cheek and walked away. I froze and instinctively reached for the nearest thing, which happened to be Jay's arm. He placed a hand on my back, and I felt just a bit more comforted. Kisses were definitely a huge trigger for me.

"Hey guys. I'm Dopey's son. As in Dopey Doc, Bashful, Happy, Grumpy, Sleepy, and..." he caught Evie's eye. "Heigh-ho."

"Evie. Evil Queen's daughter." She stepped close to his face. Doug cleared his throat and refocused on the rest of us.

"Okay. So, about your classes, I put in the requirements already: History of Woodmen and Pirates, Safety Rules for the Internet, and, uh, Remedial Goodness 101."

"Let me guess," I smirked, "new class?" Doug nodded as Mal ate some candy out of a wrapper, and Evie twirled her hair flirtatiously.

"Alright guys." Mal threw the wrapper behind her. "Let's go find our dorms." Mal led the way up the nearest staircase to us, and Doug's gaze lingered on Evie as she passed by. He quickly snapped out of the daze, however, and corrected us.

"Uh, guys, your dorms are that way." He pointed in the direction opposite of us. I rolled my eyes and led everyone to the next staircase. As we passed, Doug tried to remember all the Dwarf's names.

"Dopey, Doc, Bashful, Happy, Grumpy, Sleepy, and.."

"...Sneezy," Carlos reminded him as he passed by.


	5. Chapter 5

Evie and Mal had gone to their room, and I went to mine. I'd gotten one to myself since there was an uneven number. But I was _appalled_ at what I saw. The room was covered in princess pink lace and fluffy pink rugs. If all the girls' rooms looked like this, Evie must be really happy right about now. I slammed the curtains shut and sauntered across the hall to Mal and Evie's room. At least, that was my intent. Before I could, however, I was stopped by Prince Jon. I almost crashed into him. He looked at me and smiled.

"Hera. So nice to see you," he smiled.

"My apologies, your majesty," I stuttered, looking at my feet. "I wasn't watching where I was going,"

"Oh, no need to be so formal. I told you: you can call me Jon. Anyways, do you have a moment? I'd love to get to know you."

"I'm sorry, but I do not. I have to check on my friends, and I still have to unpack." Of course, the truth was that he was making me uncomfortable. Clearly he was never taught boundaries.  
"Well then, perhaps tomorrow after classes?"

"I-uh... I'm not so sure..."

"Please, just let me have this," he begged. This sounded _way_ too familiar, from a scenario with someone on the Isle that did not end well. But I also knew he wouldn't give up, so I caved.

"F-fine, I guess." He smiled.

"Sounds like a date." Before he left, he kissed my other cheek, and this time, I freaked out in front of him before flying into Mal and Evie's room.  
_Why me?_ I thought. When I looked up, Mal and Evie's shocked eyes were on me, and Evie quickly rushed over to pull me into a hug.

"Hera, what's going on? You've been extra sensitive ever since we got here?" Even though Mal sounded annoyed, I knew she was worried deep down. 

"Prince Jon keeps... kissing me, and we're in a new place, and my mom threatened me before we left, and I'm scared!" I began crying into Evie's arms, terrified. She rubbed my back and led me to her bed, sitting us both down. After a few minutes, I slowly calmed down, and my crying fit ended with a hiccup.

"So, would it be bad to mention that E hasn't shut up about you and Prince Jon since we unpacked?" Mal asked.

"It's so obvious he likes you," she screeched. I shook my head.

"It's too easy, E. He wants something from me... I just don't know what."

"Oh, come on, H," Evire huffed. "He _likes_ you! Why else would he kiss both your cheeks and ask you out?"

"You heard that?"

"Yeah. You guys were right outside our door," Mal chuckled.

"Why were you being so formal?" Evie asked.

"He's the _prince_ , Evie. There are regulations you have to follow. And like I mentioned, he's freaking me out."

"Hera, will you at least give him a chance?"

"What?" I could feel by breath getting short again.

"At least try to love him!"

"Evie, I can't. I really... just can't. After my last relationship... what happened... I just can't trust anyone in that way again." I thought that was the end of the conversation, but Mal seemed to remember something.

"What about Carlos?" She inquired.

"Carlos... I don't know," I answered truthfully. "I think we're..."

"...complicated," they finished with me.

"Hera, you and Carlos have been 'complicated' since the day you were born." Evie put 'complicated' in air quotes, and I rolled my eyes.

"That's a bit of an exaggeration."

"Is it really, though? Anytime anyone asks either of you about what you are, you both say it's complicated."

"I don't know, I just... I feel really safe around him, but after you-know-who, I'm not sure I'll ever be able to trust anyone that much again, even Carlos." 

"But Hera... do you like him?" I couldn't deny it. Even if I was terrified of affection and relationships, that couldn't sway my feelings.

"Of course I do." Mal smiled and winked at me. After that whole event, I walked back across to my room. I slammed the door shut, locking myself in a world full of torture and pinkness. I walked over to my torn-up black bag and began unpacking the little amount of things I had. After unloading the small quantity of clothing, I took out the last item in my bag. What I saw made my eyes swell. It was a picture of the five of us, back when we were young. All of us were making some sort of silly face. I smiled and put the picture on a small mirror on the dresser, tears running down my eyes. I missed the days when we were all happy and careless.

But things got ugly fast.


	6. Chapter 6

That night, we walked into Jay and Carlos' room. It was more suited to my style, darker in colors. Carlos was occupied with some sort of game, and Jay was inspecting things he had stolen. I sat down at the table in the middle of their room and flickered my attention between both of them.

"Jay, what are you doing?" Mal asked, walking over to him.

"It's called stealing." He pulled out a laptop.

"Okay... what's the point?"

"Well, Mal, it's like buying whatever I want... but it's free."

"Okay... so, you could do that, or you could leave all of this here and pick it up when we take over the world."

"You sound just like your mom," I sighed, long eyelashes fluttering.

"Thank you," Mal smiled, looking at me.

"You do it your way," Jay sighed, throwing down the laptop, "and I'll do it mine." He walked over to where I was sitting."

"Haha! Die suckers!" Carlos shouted, making me jump. "Jay, you've gotta check this game out."

Carlos handed Jay the two sticks he's been using to control the person on the screen, and Jay lept up onto the platform. Within seconds, enemies were attacking him, and he was swinging and flailing his arms like crazy. I couldn't help but laugh at how stupid he looked as Carlos came over to me.

"Hey, Hera," he smiled.

"Hi."

"Are you doing okay now? I mean, you were really freaking out earlier." He wrapped a comforting arm around my shoulders.

"I just don't know if I can be around him. If he's going to keep... kissing me and acting like _him_ , it's just going to be too much." Feeling uncomfortable, I shoved his arm away. "And you're making me uncomfortable as well." His face fell.

"Sorry about that, Hera. I forgot how sensitive you are about that stuff."

"It's okay, you dope."

"Really, though... are you going to be okay? You know I'm right here if he gets to be too much." I sighed.

"I might be able to handle it, but if things get out of hand, I promise you'll be the first person I go to." I flashed a reassuring smile, and it seemed to spread.

"Guys!" Mal shouted. "Do I have to remind you what we're all here for?"

"Fairy godmother... blah, blah blah," Jay called over his shoulder. "Magic wand... blah blah blah." Everyone laughed but Mal.

"This is our one chance to prove ourselves to our parents!" Jay paused the game, and everyone stopped to look at Mal. "To prove that we are evil, and vicious, and ruthless, and cruel. Yeah?"

"Yeah," we all sighed.

"Evie, mirror me," Mal ordered. Evie came and sat down next to me, pulling out her mini magic mirror that her mom had given her. Jay came over, and Carlos powered up his laptop.

"Mirror, mirror o- in my hand, where is Fairy Godmother's wand... stand?" I rolled my eyes at the ridiculous rhyme and focused on Carlos' laptop.

"There it is," Mal smiled. An image of a white wand with gold designs twisting around it appeared on the reflective surface of the tiny mirror.

"Zoom out," Carlos suggested.

"Magic mirror, not so close." Evie's mirror zoomed all the way out to show an image of the Earth, and I laughed at its smart-alack sense of humor.

"Closer," Evie ordered. "Closer, _closer!"_

"Can I go back to my game now?" Carlos asked. I smacked his arm and he moved on.

"Stop!" Jay cried abruptly. The image now being shown was some sort of building that appeared to be not far from where we were.

"It's in a museum," Mal informed us. "Do we know where that is?" Carlos typed the name into a map app, and it came up.  
"Two-point-three miles from here," I stated. Carlos turned the laptop around to show them the map. Mal got up and opened the doors to Carlos' room, and after a brief security check, all of us exited. Well, all of us except Carlos. I guess he had turned his attention back to his game. As soon as I noticed, though, I called out to him.

"Carlos!"

"Coming!" He ran over and caught up, and we walked away.


	7. Chapter 7

The museum was large, much bigger than I thought it would be. Then again, I'd never seen a museum before. We walked to the front entrance, and looked through the windows. A guard sat there, watching footage on monitors. The guard turned around a little bit, and we all scattered and hid behind the doors. After a few seconds, we looked back through the window. Maleficent's spinning wheel sat in the center of the room under a bright spotlight.

" _That's_ your mother's spinning wheel?" Jay snickered, which turned into him and Carlos full blown laughing. I couldn't help but smile a little bit.

"Yeah, it's kinda dorky," Carlos teased.

"It's evil," Mal fired back. "It doesn't have to look scary." She pulled out and book and flipped through it, until she landed on a certain page. She smiled and looked at the wheel. "Magic spindle, do not linger. Make my victim prick a finger." The guard turned around and stared blankly at the spinning wheel, causing Jay and Carlos to laugh some more.

"Impressive," Jay teased.

"I got chills." Carlos mocked, pointing to his arm.

"Okay, you know what?" Mal looked back into her book, and stumbled across another spell. "Prick the finger, prick it deep. Send my enemy off to sleep." The guard stood and looked at the spinning wheel, walking closer to it. He walked in front of the needle, and sunk his finger into it, sending him off to sleep. As soon as we were sure he was out, we pulled on the doors, but they didn't budge.

"Locked," I sighed.

"Stand back," Jay said cockily. He stepped back, and started to move forward, obviously trying to kick the doors down. Mal was quicker, though.

"Make it easy, make it quick, open up without a kick." The doors opened on their own, but Jay still persisted with his flying kick, landing on the ground with a thud. Mal, Evie, and I laughed, and Mal tapped him with her foot as she passed by. Carlos tried to help Jay up, but he refused his help and got up on his own. We walked through the halls, trying to find the room with the wand, but stumbled upon a more disturbing room. Five statues sat within it: Jafar, the Evil Queen, Cruella De Vile, Maleficent, and my mom, the Queen of Hearts.

We all stared, afraid and dumbfounded, sending shudders down our spines.

"Mommy?" Evie asked, looking at the statue of her mom. 

"Killer," Jay muttered, looking at his father's statue.

"I will never forget Mother's Day again," Carlos shuttered. I was about to cry, and I hugged myself. My mother's deep black eyes stared into my soul, screaming 'failure' at me. Tears slipped down my rosy cheeks.

"Well," Jay snapped everyone out of their daze, "the wand's not here. Let's bounce." Everyone walked away, except for Mal and I, who kept staring at the statues. 

" _I_ _f you fail, you'll be the newest head on my wall."_

Mal put an arm around my shoulders and started singing to the statue.

"Look at you, look at me. I don't know who to be, mother..." She sang in a sweet voice. At first, I though it was ridiculous, but I found myself singing, too.

"Is it wrong? Is it right? Be a thief in the night, mother."

"Tell me what to do..." We both sang. I heard footsteps and turned around to see E.

"Mal, Hera. Come on." Evie ran off, and when Mal and I turned around, we were shocked to see our mothers standing in the place of their statues, smirking down at us. I felt my blood run cold, and my legs began to tremble.

"Don't be so serious, darling," Maleficent snickered. "I'm sorry." She pulled herself together and her expression went dark as she beckoned Mal and I over. "I was once like you, my child: slightly insecure."

"Argued with my mother, too," my mom interjected. "Thought I was mature."

"But I put my heart aside and I used my head. Now I think it's time you learned what dear old mother said: don't you wanna be evil like me? Don't you wanna be mean? Don't you wanna make mischief your daily routine?"

"Well, you can spend you life attending to the poor. But when you're evil, doing less _is_ doing more. Don't you wanna be ruthless and rotten and mad? Don't you want to be very, very good at being bad?"

Mal and I glanced at each other as our mothers seemingly descended into a deeper madness than they already lived in.

"I have tried my whole life long to do the worst I can." We both flinched slightly as her mother sat between us. "Clawed my way to victory, built my master plan."

"Now the time has come, my dear, for you to take your place." The beckon of Maleficent's fingers brought us up from our sitting positions. "Promise me that you will be an absolute disgrace."

"Don't you wanna be evil like me? Don't you wanna be cruel? Don't you wanna be nasty and brutal and cool? And when you grab that wand, that's when your reign begins." Maleficent tossed her staff to her daughter, and thankfully, she caught it before it could hurt one of us. "Who wants an evil queen without a sack of sins?" She gestured for her staff back, and Mal obliged.

"Don't you wanna be heartless and hardened as stone? Don't you wanna be finger-licking evil to the bone?" Mal and I stared in wide-eyed awe as Maleficent lifted herself off the ground, hovering above us.

"This is not for us to ponder. This was pre-ordained. You and I shall rule together, freedom soon regained. Mistress of the universe, powerful and strong." She landed back on the ground, and shot her gaze toward her daughter, extending her staff out to her as my mom offered her hand. 

"Daughter, hear me, help me, join me. Won't you sing along?" The two of us smiled and accepted our mothers' invitations.

"Now we're gonna be evil, it's true, never gonna think twice. And we're gonna be spiteful."

"Yes, spiteful, that's nice." I shook my head. "In just an hour or two our future's safe and sure. This mother/daughter act is going out on tour! If you wanna be evil and awful and free, then you should thank your lucky star that you were born the girl you are: the daughter of an evilicious queen! Like me!" Our mothers cackled, their points now put across.

"Hey, I found the wand." Mal and I whipped around to see Evie standing in the archway. "Let's go."

Jarred, the two of us turned back to look at our mothers, only to see that they were statues again. I tried my best to steady my trembling hands as we followed Evie out.

_I can't let her down..._


	8. Chapter 8

Evie led us to the chamber where the wand was, pointing over the edge to where it was being kept. I sat there marveling at the wand. It looked beautiful. It was made of a sleek white material, coated in gold wrapping. Evie came back seconds later with Mal, who looked down at the wand with us. She smiled, hope in her olive green eyes. 

"Whoo!" Jay shouted, racing off towards the stairs. The others quickly followed, but I lingered there for a few seconds. The wand seemed to be surrounded by something blue. It looked almost like... a barrier, or a force field.

"Hera."

I turned to see Carlos poking his head through the entrance to the stairs. I smiled and followed him. We entered the chamber of the wand, and got close to the pedestal. Now everyone seemed to notice the blue barrier except for Jay. He climbed over the fencing and reached his hand out.

"Jay, no!" Mal cried, but she was too late. As soon as Jay's hand touched the barrier, he was thrown back with an extreme force, and a blazing, piercing alarm went off. Everyone covered their ears for a few seconds, then we all looked at each other and dashed away, knowing that alarm would wake up the guard. We raced through the corridors we had come through, desperate to leave. We moved down the stairs lightning fast. So fast, in fact, that I tripped and fell down most of the stairs. I landed with a thud at the end of the final flight, and Carlos and Jay helped me up. My head was pounding and spinning, but I was able to follow Mal and Evie out. Carlos lingered behind to tell off some other guards, until we called out to him.

"Carlos!" I cried.

"You're welcome," he sighed.

My head hurt so bad that I couldn't run anymore. I collapsed to the ground, and Jay picked me up, half carrying-half dragging me. As soon as Carlos caught up, Jay full blown picked me up and we dashed off.

"Way to go, Jay!" Mal sighed. "Now we have to go to school tomorrow."  
  
I sighed and gently sat down on my bed, head still burning and spinning. The littlest noises set off a splitting headache. And thanks to the wonderful powers of karma, there was a knock on my door, which sent a deep pain shooting through my skull. I screamed, it was so bad, and the person entered. I half expected to see Prince Jon, but instead, Carlos entered. I tried to smile at him, but I failed miserably. It quickly twisted into a frown, making me want to cry. Carlos sat down and placed a hand on back.

"You alright?" He asked. Tiny needles shot through my brain, but I spoke.

"No, and noises make my head hurt even more, so I'd prefer if I went to bed."

"Alright," Carlos sighed. Before he left, he pulled me into a hug.

"'Night, Hera," he whispered.

"Goodnight, Carlos."

He left the room and turned off the lights as he went out. I crawled under my covers and fell asleep instantly, dreaming of people banging on my head with tiny hammers


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning, I sat in Fairy Godmother's stupid Remedial Goodness class. I knew that the point of it, but clearly, none of us saw it as useful. I sighed and zoned out as Fairy Godmother's annoying voice fought for dominance over my attention.  
"If someone hands you a crying baby, do you:  
A) Curse it  
B) Lock it in a tower  
C) Give it a bottle, or  
D) Carve out its heart?  
Actually, that last option didn't sound to bad. Babies could get pretty annoying when they cried. Carving out its heart would mean it would die, which would, technically, stop it from crying.  
Before I could give the answer I know she didn't want to hear, Evie's arm shot up.  
"Evie." Fairy Godmother pointed to her. Evie put her arm down and smiled.  
"What was the second one?" She asked stupidly. I groaned and sunk lower into my seat, wanting to be anywhere but here.  
"Oh, okay. Anyone else?" She looked around. "Mal?"  
Mal, who hadn't even been paying attention, looked up and answered.  
"C. Give it a bottle."  
"Correct. Again."  
"You are on fire, girl," Carlos complimented.  
Mal looked up and gave a 'why do you care' gesture.  
"I just picked the one that doesn't sound like any fun."  
"Oh, yeah, that's one way," I sighed.  
"That makes so much sense," Evie smiled.  
From behind me, I heard a squeal. I whipped my head around to see a small girl in light blue making her way to the front, trying to avoid us.  
"Oh. Hello dear one," Fairy Godmother smiled at the girl.  
"You need to sign off on early dismissal for the coronation." She handed the papers to Fairy Godmother and glanced back fearfully at us. I tried to avoid her gaze but running my fingers along the patterns on my shoes.  
"Everyone here remembers my daughter, Jane?"  
"Mom, no..."  
_No actually, I don't. Maybe it's because you never introduced us and I'm too lazy to go make friends on my own!_  
"It's okay. Jane, this is everyone."  
She shoved Jane towards us and Jane seemed to freeze.  
"Hi. That's okay. Don't mind me. As you were." She squealed and then dashed off.  
_Yeesh_ , I snickered, _that girl squeals more than a hungry Guinea Pig!_ (A/N not exactly something pleasant to wake up to at 3 in the morning)  
"Ahem. Let's continue." Fairy Godmother sauntered back to the board. "You find a vial of poison. Do you:  
A) Put it in the King's wine?"  
_Duh!_  
"B) Paint it on an apple?"  
Evie giggled and I rolled my eyes.   
"Or C) Turn it over to the proper authorities?"  
As soon as she finished speaking, Jay, Carlos, and Evie began waving their hands around like mad. Jay looked over at Carlos and slapped his arm down.  
"Jay."  
"C. You turn it over to the proper authorities."  
"I was gonna say that," Carlos whined.  
"Oh, well I did." Suddenly, Jay Grabbed Carlos by the neck and began giving him an intense noogie.  
"Come on, who said it first? Who said it first?"  
"Boys." Fairy Godmother tapped her pointer tool against a banister. "Boys!"  
They both stopped and looked at her.  
"I will encourage you both to use that energy on the Tourney field."  
"Oh, no, that's okay," Carlos choked out. "Whatever that is, we'll pass."  
Fairy Godmother sighed and turned back to the blackboard. I scooted further down and tried not to pay any more attention.


	10. Chapter 10

After what felt like eight eternities, the final bell rang, and school was over for the day. I quickly tossed my retched books into my black bag, and after a brief check to make sure I got everything, I walked over and pushed open the large oak doors. But rather than just being able to walk out and go sit in my dorm room, I crashed, head first, into something and fell to the ground. My head had already been on pins and needles, no thanks to falling down the stairs last night, and now it felt like someone was running a metal spike through my head. I fell to the floor and just laid there, cool tile against my heated skin.  
"Hera? Hera, are you alright?"  
I opened my eyelids to see the very last person I wanted to see right now.  
"Oh," I groaned. "I'm alright, Prince Jon."  
He sighed and extended a hand out to me. I smirked, but didn't accept it.  
"No, that's alright. I'd much rather stay on the floor."  
"Hera... people walk on this floor with their dirty feet every day..."  
"Yeah, and I had to sleep in a room surrounded by my mother's bloody heads. What's your point?" I sighed. "Besides, I rather like it on the floor here. In fact, I might just live on this floor."  
Prince Jon chuckled, leaned down and grabbed my waist, and helped me up. Immediately, pain slapped down on my head, and my legs gave out. I expected to feel the tile against my back, but instead I felt a pair of arms catch me. I looked up to see Prince Jon looking at me, concern lacing his frosty blue eyes.  
"Hera, are you alright?"  
"Hmm...? O-oh. Yuh-yeah. I'm fine, I think."  
"You think?" His eyes burned into my soul.  
I sighed and caved.  
"Oh, alright. I don't think I'm fine. I've had the most _dreadful_ headache since last night, and hitting my head on the floor just made it worse."  
"Well maybe if you weren't so clumsy..." he teased.  
"Oi!"   
"Okay, okay. Let's get you up to your room. You need to relax and try not to use your brain, alright?"  
I tried to nod, but it hurt too much. Prince Jon seemed to understand.  
"Alright. Now if you'll let me, I'm going to carry you up to your room. Do you trust me to do that."  
I rolled my eyes, despite the pain, and tried to push away from his arms.  
"Jon, I can walk plenty fine on my own. Now, if you'll excuse me, it was nice of you to offer the help, but-"  
I took a small step, but the pain was too bad, and I almost collapsed to the ground, only to be saved by Prince Jon. He looked down at me, amused.  
"I appreciate your independence, and your use of only my first name, but you should really just let me carry you up."  
I finally caved and he carried me into my room. After he placed me onto my bed, he walked to the door.  
"I'll inform your teachers of your condition. That should, hopefully, give you an extension on homework, and maybe even excuse you from classes tomorrow."  
I smiled.  
"Thanks. That actually makes me feel a little better."  
Prince Jon smiled, then shut the door behind him.


	11. Chapter 11

I woke up, head still throbbing a little bit, but overall feeling better. I just sat there, staring at the ceiling for a moment.  
I just stared at the ceiling, watching the fan turning around in circles, somehow captivating my mind. I kept watching it go around until I heard the door open. I turned my head to see my four friends standing there, Evie holding the door open and offering me a soft smile. I smirked back at her and the four of them entered, Carlos shutting the door behind him. Evie and Mal sat on the end of my bed, Carlos sat in one chair, and Jay in another. They all looked at me.  
"You really seem to always get hurt, huh?" Mal smiled. I couldn't help but chuckle.  
"Yeah, I guess so. Except this one wasn't Jay or Carlos' fault."  
Carlos rolled his eyes and Jay shot me a death glare.  
"Hey, it's not always my fault..." Jay shot back.  
"And you've only scraped yourself up because of me, like, four times."  
Evie giggled.  
"That's more than enough," she laughed. "Her skin isn't worth those scars."  
"Yeah, okay, sure," I laughed. "We'll pretend my skin is a precious item."  
"Guys!" Mal yelled. "As much as I like having conversations with Hera, we came to talk to her for a reason... again."  
Evie almost popped up.  
"Right! Mal found another way to try to get the wand."  
"Alright, lay it on me. I shouldn't have to sit here for much longer."  
"Hera, you've been asleep for about a day."  
"Oh, dang..."  
"Anyways, Mal made friends with Jane by fixing her hair, and now she's persuaded Jane to try and get her mother to pull out her old wand. Mal will go with Jane if that happens to steal it."  
"Sounds like it's got a few holes in it, huh?"  
"Yeah, a couple," Mal sighed. "But they'll hopefully resolve themselves."  
We all sat there in silence for a few moments, then I spoke up.  
"Hey, Carlos? Jay?' They both looked up at me. "Would you mind if I just talked to Mal and Evie?"  
Jay nodded and stood, but Carlos still sat there. Jay smacked him in the back of the head and he got up and walked out.  
"Feel better soon," Carlos called as Jay dragged him out, shutting the door. As soon as they left, Mal and Evie turned and looked me straight in my red eyes.  
"What's up?" Evie smiled.  
"Something doesn't feel right about this place... Jon keeps... doing weird things."  
"Like...?"  
"Before I, you know, 'passed out,' he was... flirting with me, or something like that. It was... weird..."  
Evie practically lost her head.  
"Oh my god!" She squealed. "He's definitely into you!"  
I laughed.  
"Yeah, right. Why would anyone like me?"  
Evie looked at Mal.  
"I got this one," she sighed, then turned to me. "Hera, you are pretty, smart, and you are downright rotten." I giggled at the last one. "Clearly Jon likes two out of those three things, maybe even all of them."  
"Jon's not the only one you've caught the attention of."  
"What? What are you talking about?" I asked, turning my attention to E.  
"I'm not allowed to say his name, but there's one other guy I know that likes you."  
"What? That's insane..." I sighed and put my hands over my face. "Oh, this is maddening."  
"Ooh! I know what will help!" Evie smiled.  
"What...?"  
"I've been really interested in making clothes lately! It's a Saturday, so we don't have school. I'd love to design a new wardrobe for you!"  
I sighed. Fashion was the last thing from my mind, but I needed something to take my mind off of all of this.  
"Alright," I caved. "Let's go..."


	12. Chapter 12

English class was possibly the most boring thing on this planet. It was worse than Biology, Algebra, History, Spanish, and Remedial Goodness combined. I tapped my pencil against my desk, waiting to get my paper back. Rest assured, it was probably going to have an 'F' on it. The prompt had to be the dumbest thing I had ever read. It was all about good deeds and kindness. I swear they had written it exactly for me. In fact, I'm pretty sure my teacher was glaring at me the whole time she explained it.   
Someone cleared their throat, and I looked up to see one of the perky red heads I was sitting with looking at me. As soon as our eyes met, she spoke.  
"Would you kindly stop tapping your pencil?"  
I stopped, but looked at her cockily.  
"I wouldn't know kindly if it came and slapped me in the face and said, 'hi, I'm Kindly. What's your name?'"  
The girl rolled her eyes, something I seldom saw from people here.  
"Alright, well just stop it. Our papers will be coming back in a minute."  
"Fine," I groaned. "You don't have to be so persistent... uh..."  
"Aria. My name is Aria."  
"...and your parents would be..?"  
"Oh, right! How rude of me. My parents are Princess Ariel and Prince Eric."  
I laughed, making her slide her chair back a bit.  
"Nice to know I'm speaking to someone who's part fish. Should I go buy some fish food and put you in a tank?"  
Her mouth turned to an 'O' and I smirked satisfactorily.  
"How _dare_ you day that? My mother made countless sacrifices to be with the one she loves. And what has your mother done? Unfairly judged people and gotten rid of their heads. You probably don't even know what love is!"  
I growled lowly in my throat, then stopped, noticing the teacher coming over to our table. She handed Aria her paper, then some other kids sitting at our table, all of whom were casting me distasteful looks. She didn't hand me mine, and I got confused. After she handed the last paper to a girl at our table, she gestured for me to follow her. I did as told, and as I passed by, Aria shot me a hateful look. I disregarded it and followed her. When we got back to her desk, she sat and handed me my paper.  
"I want you to look at this, Hera."  
I looked down at the paper and was shocked. An 'A+?' I didn't even know she could give those.  
"A-an A+? I don't understand?"  
"Look at some of the comments."  
I looked through my pages of papers. There were a lot of comments but there was one thing I never saw: corrections. There were no corrections whatsoever on my paper.  
Not even one.  
"Um, I think you made a mistake, ma'am. There aren't any corrections on here."  
She took off her glasses and smiled at me.  
"No, Hera. There was just nothing to correct."  
"I don't understand..."  
"Hera, I know talent when I see it. And you have an amazing talent when it comes to writing. I'm going to move you up to an honors class, and if that's too easy, I'm move you to an older grade class."  
I didn't argue. I just nodded and sat down. Aria looked at me like I'd gotten in trouble, and she liked it.  
"Oh, I'm not in trouble," I smiled. Her grin slowly faded. "I"m just talented at writing. In fact, I'm so talented, the teacher's moving me up to an honors class. Oh, and if that's too easy, I'm joining a higher level. Hope you don't mind."  
She was practically snarling at me, and I decided to finish with a 'bang.'  
"Oh, and by the way, Aria, you have really pretty hair."   
She smiled and flipped it, which is when I delivered the big punch.   
"It would look great on my wall." I reached over and ripped off a bit. "Thanks."  
She looked at me, appalled and hurt. I just cackled and got up as the bell rang.


	13. Chapter 13

I sat at a table, waiting to get my delayed "date" with Jon over. If he tried anything, I'd slap his face and leave. Simple as that. I stared down at my nails, forever stained black, when I heard footsteps. I looked up to see the familiar figure of Prince Jon. He smiled down at me and sat.  
"Hey, Hera."  
"Hello, Prince Jon."  
"Well, it's an improvement..." he sighed. "Anyways, I was wondering if I could ask you about yourself. Get to know you a little bit?"  
"I guess," I sighed, blowing some hair out of my face. He pulled out a piece of paper and I raised an eyebrow.  
"It... may or may not also be a school assignment..." he blushed. I stared at him with my dead eyes and he moved on. "Anyways... What's your full name?"  
"Hera Andrea." I keep my face monotone, showing no interest as he writes down my answer.  
"Alright... which villain was your mother or father?"   
"The Queen of Hearts." He writes that down and looks back up at me, smiling.  
"Alright... what was your life like on the Isle?"  
I put on a fake smile as I answer, trying not to show pain in my face.  
"Well, I lived with Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos. We were all really close friends. We would make mischief pretty much every day, running around and doing whatever we wanted."  
"And what would you do at home?"  
I swallowed hard.  
"At home... we would hang out together. We were together pretty much every second of the day. I mean, after all, we didn't have anyone else. It was just five of us, spreading our reign of terror all over the island." I chuckled as I thought of our antics. Jon wrote down the answer and then looked up.  
"What were relationships like on the island?"  
I proceeded with caution, possibly seeing where this was going. Not to mention the slight PTSD that came with thinking of past relationships.  
"We didn't really have relationships... I guess none of us really saw it as necessary."   
He didn't write that down.  
"So you've never had a boyfriend... and you don't have one now."  
My suspicions were confirmed. I stood up angrily and pushed the chair away. Without saying a word, I walked away.  
"Wait, Hera!"  
I just kept walking, not listening to Jon's pleading cries. I started running and running, not stopping for anyone or anything. I ran, faster and faster, trying to get as far away from Jon as possible. I ran and ran, then slowed as I got closer to my dorm, until finally, I threw open the door and collapsed onto my bed. I just sat there, staring at the ceiling, hoping the memories would go away.  
Of course this was what he was going to try this! He's been looking at me ever since we met! It was only a matter of time! But I'd rather kiss Carlos than go out with Prince Jon.  
And that should say something.  
I sat there, watching the fan turn around, then got up and walked over to Evie and Mal's room.


	14. Chapter 14

Mal laid on her bed, sketching in her book, and Evie was sewing some sort of outfit for herself. I stormed in, slamming open the door. Evie jumped and both girls shot their heads up. I didn't even wait for them to ask what was wrong. I just began venting.  
"I knew it! I _knew_ he would do that!" I paced back and forced, running my hands through my red and black hair. I was beyond mad.  
"You knew who would do what?" Evie asked, eyes set on me.  
"Jon! He tried to ask me out!"  
"That's amazing, H!"  
"No, it's not! I don't _want_ him! I want him to leave me alone for once!"  
Mal smirked.  
"We need to get him back for this. Do something horrible." The look on Mal's face consisted of pure joy.  
"Alright, as much as I love that idea..." I sighed, hating this situation. "... I think I have to get along with him. We have to get that wand somehow, remember?"  
Mal and Evie both gave me 'you're right' looks. I groaned loudly and flopped onto Evie's unoccupied bed. My red and black hair fell onto my face, but I didn't move it.  
"This is even worse than what we had on the Isle," I sighed. Mal opened her mouth to speak, but the door swung open before she could. The young, shy girl in blue from earlier walked in and came over to Mal. I looked at her in a bit of shock. Her hair looked... different. It used to be short and straight, but now it went to her shoulders and was full of long curls. Mal looked up from her drawings and focused on the girl.  
"Hey, Jane. What's up? You look upset."  
"Mom's not going to use her magic wand to fix me."  
"What? Are you kidding me? That's so mean." I could tell Mal was acting a bit.  
"Mom said that if a boy can't see the beauty within he's not worth it," Jane sighed. "Can you believe it? What world does she live in?"  
Mal snickered.  
"Auradon."  
Evie interrupted their coversation.  
"Mal, do you like?" She asked, holding up a dress she had made.  
"Yeah, it's cute."  
"Brings out your eyes," I added.  
"I know," Evie smiled, prompting a playful eye roll from me.  
"I'll never get a boyfriend," Jan sighed, sitting down next to where I was laying. I sat up in fear that she didn't notice me.  
"Boyfriends are overrated," Mal replied nonchalantly.  
"And how would you know, Mal?" Evie cut in. "You've never had one."  
"That's because I don't need one, E." Tension filled the air and I shifted uncomfortably. "They're a waste of time."  
At that moment, Evie gasped.  
"I forgot to do Chad's homework!" She jumped out of her chair and raced over to a beige colored backpack.  
"And that is exactly what I mean."  
Another bubbly, bouncy girl came in the door. She was wearing bright pastels that burned my eyes a bit, and she had short, straight, black hair.  
"Hi guys. My name's Lonnie," she introduced. We all started at her blankly, not recognizing her. "My mom's Mulan?" We still didn't respond. "No? Okay. Anyways, I love what you've done with Jane's hair, and I know you hate us and, well, you're evil, but do you think you could do mine?"  
We all looked up.  
"Why would I do that for you?" Mal asked rudely. I didn't blame her, though. We didn't even know this girl. Lonnie pulled out a small, equally bright bag.  
"I'll pay you fifty dollars."  
Evie snatched the bag from her and stood.  
"Excellent answer. I need to buy new material." She began accessing Lonnie's hair. "I'm thinking we lose the bangs, maybe some layers, and maybe some highlights." I self-consciously touched my own bangs when Evie made the bangs comment. They didn't look bad, right?  
"Yeah, no. I want it cool. Like Mal's"  
"Really? The split ends, too?" Mal looked up and shot Evie a glare. Evie jingled the bag and Mal groaned, rolling off the bed and grabbing her spell book. She opened it to the right page and looked at Lonnie.  
"Okay...." she pointed to a spell. "Beware, forswear, replace the old with cool hair." Mal closed the spell book, then moved her finger left, right, and then down, dragging Lonnie's head along with it. She then moved her fingers in a beckoning way, and Lonnie's hair slowly grew. Now, it looked almost identical to Jane's, but it was light brown. Lonnie raced over to the mirror and began fingering with it, smiling. Evie came over and put her hands on one of Lonnie's arms.  
"I know, I know. It looks like a mop on your head. You know what, let's cut it off, later it-"  
"No, no, no, no, no, no. I love it."  
"You do?"  
"It's just..."  
Lonnie reached down and took hold of one of the edges of her skirt, and with one move, ripped it a bit.  
"...now I'm cool."  
"Like ice," Mal chuckled.  
Jane raced over to the mirror and did what Lonnie did, but rather than smiling, she gasped.  
"What did I just do? Mom's gonna kill me!"  
We all chuckled and Lonnie and Jane walked out, Lonnie thanking Mal. I flopped back down on the bed and watched the ceiling fan spin around in circles.


	15. Chapter 15

I decided to go out and do some more exploring around the grounds of the school. Although I wasn't too keen on actually _talking_ to other human beings, I figured some fresh air would do me some good after all that had happened. All I had to do was hope and pray that I didn't run into Prince Jon, or for that matter, his brother. Either one would mean bad news for me. I had just stepped outside of the doors and began walking along a small garden pathway, when I heard crying coming from somewhere close. Although I preferred to stay as far away from complex emotions as possible, crying brought me joy, so I decided to check out the source. I ran down the path, attempting to keep the beanie on my head, until I eventually rounded a corner and found the source. A small girl in blue with bright-blonde hair sat with her head in her hands and knees pulled tight against her chest. She heard my footsteps and looked up at me with vibrant blue eyes.  
"Are you alright?" I found myself asking. She wiped her nose and spoke choppily.  
"N-n-no. The other kids, t-th-the-they t-te-tea-tease me about being mental..."  
"What?" I sat down next to the girl. "Why would they think that?"  
"I-I-I see ta-tal-talking butterflies and cats everywhere!"  
"Oh... I hate to break it to you, but I think they're right. Based on what you're saying, there's a chance you have schizophrenia..."  
"No!" Her outburst was so sudden, it shocked me and I jumped a little. "They're from the stories my mother told me growing up." The girl's voice was more stable now. "She told me about all the adventures she had when she fell down the rabbit hole."  
"Rabbit hole..." It took me a minute to process this, but as soon as I did, I looked straight at her. "Are you Alice's daughter? As in _Alice in Wonderland_?"  
"Yes," she smiled. "My name's Aline."  
"I'm Hera," I sighed. "I'm the daughter of the Queen of Hearts."  
Aline drew back a bit.  
"You're _her_ daughter?"  
I nodded.  
"But... but you're nice..."  
I sighed.  
"Not really. I just felt pity for you. Clearly, we're both freaks around here."  
She smiled a bit.  
"I guess so, huh?" I nodded. "Well, us freaks should stick together. I'll see you around, Hera!" With that, she got up and left, and I headed back to the Dorms.  
  
"Hey!" I smiled at Mal, entering her room with the others. She was leafing through her spell book with a frustrated look on her face.  
"Did your plan work with Jane? Are you going to see the wand?" Jay asked.  
"Do you think I'd be going through every single spell in this book if I hadn't completely struck out?" She shouted.  
"Oh, someone's in a bad mood," Carlos sighed, sitting down on Evie's bed, next to me.  
"My mom's counting on me! I can't let her down!" We all fell silent after her screaming and looked at her, totally focused. "We can do this... if we stick together, and we won't go back until we do, because we're rotten..."  
"...to the core..." we all finished.  
There was a brief silence, until Evie shattered it.  
"Oh yeah, I found out that Fairy Godmother blesses Ben with the wand and we all get to go." At that moment, there was a knock at the door. "I have nothing to wear, of course."  
"What?" I sighed.  
"Hold that thought," Mal instructed as she got up to answer the door. She walked over and opened it, revealing Prince Ben.  
"Hey, Mal," he smiled. "I didn't see you guys today. I was just wondering if you had any questions or anything that you needed..."  
Mal looked back at us to see if we needed anything, but when we all remained silent, she turned back around.   
"Not that I know of..."  
"Okay... Alright... Well, uh, if you need anything, just-"  
"Oh, wait!"  
Ben stopped talking and focused back on her eyes.  
"Is it true that we all get to go to your coronation?"  
"Yeah, the whole school does."  
"Wow..." Mal's acting kicked back in. "That is beyond exciting. Do you think that it;s a possibility that the five of us could sit in the front row next to Fairy Godmother so we can soak up all that... goodness?"  
Ben sighed and his face fell.  
"I wish you could, but up front it's just me, my folks, and my girlfriend."  
"Your girlfriend?" I could tell Mal was forming a plan.  
"Yeah, I'm really sorry."  
"Okay, thanks, bye."  
"Oh, but there's plenty of-" Mal shut the door before he could finish. She then turned around and smirked at us.   
"I think it's time that Benny-Boo got himself a new girlfriend."  
I snickered at the stupid nickname.


	16. Chapter 16

Late that night, the five of us had snuck down to the kitchen area and had decided that it was time to take desperate measures. Mal and Evie were making a batch of cookies infused with a love spell that would get Prince Ben to fall in love with Mal. That would most likely make him ask Mal to be his girlfriend, putting her in front at the coronation so that she could snatch the wand. Just in case, I had to agree to be Prince Jon's date to the coronation if he asked. That had been a hard-fought battle between all five of us.  
"No!" I had cried, maybe a little _too_ loud. "I'm not doing that! He creeps me out!"  
"Hera," Mal had barked. "We need you to do this. We need backup in case my plan fails."  
"We know for a fact that Jon is falling all over you. We need that," Evie had sighed.  
"I don't know..." Carlos had cut in. "There's something... off... about His Royal Creepiness. I don't know if Hera will really be safe during all of this."  
Jay had punched Carlos in the arm.  
"Come on, man. We need backup. Our parents will literally _kill_ us if we don't go through with this. It's either put Hera in a situation where we can easily pull her out if something happens, or basically commit suicide. Which one would you rather have?"  
Carlos had sighed, thinking it over, and then caved.  
"Fine, but the minute something seems suspicious, we find a way for Hera to get out of the coronation and rely on Mal, alright."  
Although it had been reluctant, everyone had nodded. I had sighed and flopped down on Evie's bed, and that was the end of that.  
Now, Carlos, Jay, and I were sitting on the counter, with Carlos cuddling this new dog he had met named Dude. Mal and Evie were by the stove making the cookie batter for the love potion we needed. I reached over and scratched behind Dude's ear, causing him to lick my hand in affection. I chuckled and proceeded to pet him.  
"Alright," Mal spoke up suddenly, "it says we still need one tear, and I never cry."  
"Let's just chop up some onions," Jay suggested.   
"No," Mal sighed, annoyed. "It says we need one tear of human sadness, and this love potion gets the best reviews, so we have to follow it exactly."  
"A tear's a tear," Jay shot back stubbornly. Mal rolled her eyes and focused back on the cookie batter.  
"That's not true, Jay," Evie spoke up. "They both have antibodies and enzymes, but an emotional tear has more protein-based hormones than a reflex tear."  
"Listen to you," I smiled, astonished at Evie's new knowledge.  
"Yeah, I knew that," Jay huffed.  
"Did not," Carlos shot back.  
"Yeah I did."  
"There you are, Mal!"  
All five of us shot our heads up and Evie quickly hid the spell book. Lonnie walked over to us and stood opposite of Mal.  
"I was looking for you," she smiled. "You know, all the girls want you to do their hair."  
I rolled my eyes. All the girls here worried about was their personal appearance and personal reputation. Where was that going to get them in life?  
"Midnight snack, huh?" Lonnie took one glance at the cookie dough and dipped her finger into it, popping it into her mouth.  
"No!" All of us cried at the same time, clearly all worried about the same thing. She looked at us, confused, as she slid her finger out of her mouth.  
"Don't worry," she smiled, "I'm not going to double-dip."  
"Do you feel anything... different?" Mal inquired.  
"Like it's missing something?" I added. Lonnie rolled over what had been in her mouth, as if she were able to analyze the ingredients she had just eaten.  
"It could use some chips." She walked over to the large, steel refrigerator, opening the large door.  
"Chips...?" Carlos sounded as lost as I was.  
"And those are?" Mal asked.  
"Chocolate chips." Lonnie pulled out a pull of small, brown, strange shape pieces of this substance named 'chocolate.' I think I had remembered it from the limousine. "Just the most important food group." She looked over all of our confused faces as she sprinkled the chocolate chips into the cookie batter. "Wait, didn't your moms ever make you guys, like, chocolate chip cookies."  
Our faces remained blank, out minds lost.  
"Like, when you're feeling sad, and they're fresh from the over with a big old glass of milk? And she makes you laugh, and puts everything into perspective, and-" She looked over us again. "Why are you all staring at me like that?"  
"It's just... different where we come from," I sighed, looking at the floor.  
"Yeah, I know... I just thought, you know, even villains love their kids."  
We all shook our heads slightly.  
"Oh... how awful..." A tear began sliding down Lonnie's cheek, and all of us took quick action. Mal reached out and wiped it from her face, then flicked it into the batter.  
"Yeah, well, big bummer," Mal rambled, "but we have to get these into the oven, so thank you for coming by, really."  
"Have a good night," Lonnie called back to all of us as Mal ushered her towards the door. "I'll see you tomorrow."  
"Evil dreams," I called.  
"Good night," Mal smiled. "See you tomorrow."  
As soon as Lonnie had left, Mal got right back to work.  
"Okay boys, cookie sheet. Evie, oven."  
"Yes, ma'am!"  
"Hera, start spooning these cookies out and putting them onto the sheet."  
"On it!" I called, jumping down from the counter. After what seemed like an eternity, the cookies were finally done, and Mal put them into a bag.  
"What are we going to do with all these extras?" I sighed.  
"Not sure," Mal trailed off. "Let's just get rid of them. We can't eat them."  
We tossed the cookies into a garbage bin, said our goodbyes, and walked to our rooms. I climbed into my pajamas, switched off the lights, and curled up under my covers.   
I had a nightmare about my mother's wrath.


	17. Chapter 17

  
I sat down in my history class, waiting for a boring lecture on how Auradon came to be. The teacher had finally given us the liberty of choosing our own seats, and I was hoping that because I was that weird, villain, new girl, no one would sit next to me, but I was wrong. Only a few minutes after I had sat down, Aline walked in, hair and dress perfect, but her face a mess from crying. She spotted me and quickly walked over, keeping her head down so no one would notice her. She quickly sat next to me and looked over my figure with her bright blue, blood-shot eyes.  
"Hey, Hera..." Her voice quivered as she spoke. I was worried she was about to break down in tears at any second.  
"Hello, Aline." There was a part of me that felt bad I was so hostile, but at the same time, I felt like she was being over-dramatic. She very clearly had a mental disease, and she wasn't going to accept it. "Are you alright?" I found myself asking. She shook her head and wiped her nose.  
"I found these in my dorm today. I think people slipped them underneath the door while I was in my science class." She pulled out some slips of paper and handed them to me. I unfolded them and read them with careful thought. I felt more and more guilty as I read each one.  
_You're such an idiot.  
Why are you still here, idiot?  
If the cats are real, you should ask them to gouge your eyes out.  
I hope your 'caterpillars' eat your flesh and the 'talking flowers' eat your organs._  
Aline put the worst one on the bottom.  
_Go kill yourself, Aline.  
_"Wait..." I looked at the last note carefully. "I recognize that handwriting. Do you know who gave you this?" Aline nodded.  
"She handed it to me herself."  
"Who was it?"  
"Aria. Do you know her."  
I slammed my hand down on the desk and tore up the note.  
"I'm going to kill her!" The bell rang and I settled back down externally, but on the inside, the instincts I had inhabited from my mother were starting to kick in. I wanted to _kill_ Aria, cut off every one of her limbs and make her suffer until I finally cut off her head and hung it on my wall. I could give it to my mother, and it could be her sacrificial head.  
But at the end of the day, I knew I couldn't do that.  
  
After what seemed like forever, the bell rang for the end of history class. I said goodbye to Aline and walked out to meet the others by the lockers to give Prince Ben the cookie so that he would fall in love with Mal. I raced through the halls and quickly got to where the others were. I made it just in time, meeting Mal and Evie before they went out to where Ben's locker was.  
"Hey H," Evie smiled. "You look upset. What's wrong?"  
_Can I admit to actually feeling_ sympathy _for someone, or will they just laugh at me?  
_I decided not to risk it.  
"Nothing. I just have really boring teachers. I'm sure it's the same for you."  
"Oh, my chemistry teacher is the _worst_. His lectures seem to go on forever!" I laughed at E's over-dramatic response. Mal ignored our conversation, her eyes on the prize. We walked past a group of girls and they all seemed to fangirl over her.  
"Hey Mal!" They all cried. Jay and Carlos caught up with us and I walked next to Carlos, petting Dude behind his ear. Mal and Jay stood and talked at Mal's decorated locker.  
"Hey, are you feeling kind of weird about this?" He asked Mal. I cocked my head, confused on why Jay was asking that. "I mean, it's not so bad here, you know?"  
"Are you insane?" Mal snapped. "Long live evil! You're mean, you're awful, you're bad news! Snap out of it!" She clapped her hands in front of Jay's face and he seemed to instantly change.  
"Thanks Mal," he smiled. "I needed that." Jay walked over to flirt with some girls and I turned to talk to Carlos. I figured if I could talk to anyone about Aline, it could be him.  
"Hey Carlos..." He looked at me with wide, interested, brown eyes. "...can I, uh, tell you about something?"  
"Sure." He sat down at a lunch table behind us and I sat next to him.  
"I met this girl, Aline, last week. She clearly has a mental disorder, but she refuses to accept it. This morning, in history, I found out that, uh, people bully her a lot. They were leaving her notes telling her that she was an idiot and they hoped that the creatures she hallucinates about would eat her alive. They were even asking her to... to... to... to kill herself..." I could feel tears welling in my eyes and they started falling down as I looked right at Carlos. He seemed shocked that the toughest youngster on The Isle was crying. "What do I do?"  
He looked at me in pure and utter shock. He set down Dude and did something I never thought Carlos would do: he hugged me. He pulled me against his chest and held me tight. I cried into his shoulders, not sure what to do, worried I was going to have an anxiety attack at some point soon.  
"Hera, calm down," he whispered. "You're going to be okay. You just have to always be there for her, and make sure she doesn't listen to them, alright. Hey, hey-" he forced me to look at him. "-you need to stay strong, okay? Be the strong girl we remember you being."  
"Hey, Carlos!" Prince Ben called him over.  
"Stay strong," he whispered to me. I nodded, but it felt like a lie. I looked over and met the eyes of Jon.  
_Oh god..._  
He noticed me and walked over, sitting down besides me.  
"Hera! I need you to do me a favor."


	18. Chapter 18

"What do you want, Jon?" I huffed.  
"Wow, what's with the hostile energy? I thought we were friends."  
"'Friends' is not in my vocabulary," I sighed, frustrated. "Now tell me what you want."  
"I guess this isn't really a favor. It's more of something I've wanted to ask you for a long time."  
_Oh great,_ I thought. _Here we go...  
_"I was wondering of you maybe wanted to be my date to the coronation. I could have a nice dress made for you, and.. well, I want to make up for suddenly springing that whole 'dating' thing on you the other day."  
I sighed. Every part of me wanted to say no. I mean it when I say that none of me wanted to say 'yes, I'll go with you.' Mal needed me to do this, though. If we wanted to get the wand, I had to say yes so that I would be close to it in case Mal's plan backfired. I let out a big sigh and swallowed down my disgust as I answered.  
"Yes, Prince Jon. It would be my honor to accompany you to your brother's coronation." I forced a pretty smile, one that looked like it was made out of hope and love, when in reality it was just a mask hiding my hatred and disgust for this boy. Since he was up there with the popular kids, something told me that he was one of the people bullying Aline. Whether he realized it or not was out of the question if he _was_ bullying her.  
"Oh my god, thank you so much, Hera! This is amazing!" He leaned over and kissed my cheek, then got up and walked away. I sat there, disgusted and angry at what Mal was making me do. This wand has caused all sorts of horrible things to happen to me, and this was just another thing on this list. I sighed deeply as Carlos came and sat back down next to me. Dude began licking my face, a call for attention, and I responded by petting him on the top of his head.  
"What happened, Hera?" He asked, focused on my red eyes.  
"Prince Jon asked me to be his date to the coronation. Of course, no thanks to Mal, I _had_ to say yes..." I chuckled a little bit. "Now I'm going to have to wear a fancy dress."  
"I'm sure you'll look pretty," Carlos assured me.   
"Thanks," I smiled.  
"Hey, listen..." I looked up and met his brown eyes. "When you're upset... just remember that you're too good for him. There's someone out there that will love you more than he ever will. Remember to be strong and that, okay?"  
"Yeah, Carlos. It's just going to be a little difficult when Prince Jon is constantly invading my personal space, you know?"  
"Hera..." Carlos turned me to face him and put down Dude. I could tell he was serious now. "...you are so smart, and pretty, and amazing, and interesting. Deep down, I know that there's affection in you. You just need someone that you can trust so that you can take down the barriers in your heart and know that you're safe."  
"Wow... thanks Carlos..."  
"I know the people you love are... mean and cruel to you. Your mother never really showed you any love..." he took my hands and I looked into his eyes, everything starting to click. "...and you need someone to do that. I... I want to be that person..."  
"Carlos..." I was really touched. I was worried I would start crying. "...I-"  
"I'm so sorry you have to have a date with someone you don't love. You really shouldn't have to do this."  
"But I _do_ have to. If I don't want my head to be my mother's next prize, then we have to get that wand."  
"Yeah... it's horrible. Why do we have to live like this?"  
"Well, I _thought_ it was because we were evil... but now... I'm not so sure anymore."  
"What happened to the most feared youngster on The Isle?"  
"She's still in there... somewhere. But there's another part of her that had emerged: a part that loves and cares, and wants to protect. Ever since I saw what people were doing to Aline... I changed... I guess she broke me." I chuckled at that last part.  
"She didn't break you, Hera. She made you more human, and that's a good thing. Hera, it makes you even more beautiful than you were before."  
I smiled at him. It was an actual smile, not my usual smirk. I could feel tears of conflicting origin biting at the back of my throat and welling in my eyes.  
"Oh, Hera," Carlos whispered, "don't cry, please."  
"I'm crying because I'm happy, Carlos. At least, I think that's why I'm crying. Thank you, Carlos. You've picked me up when my mother wasn't there to make me feel better. I'm so sorry I've never really been there for you."  
"Never been there for me? What are you talking about, Hera? You've done so much for me! We've always been the youngest, and that's support enough. And don't forget all the games we played as kids, all the times we fell down and got all scraped up! Hera, you've been my best friend since the day I had independent thoughts and could comprehend what a friend was. Hera, you'll always be the person first in my heart."  
"As will you, Carlos."


	19. Chapter 19

The others had all gone to the Tourney game, but because I was asked to the coronation so late, I had to have my dress made now. I had tried to argue with Jon about it, secretly wanting to be closer to Carlos, but he had been adamant on his point, almost being a little too defensive.  
"Jon..." I had whined.  
"Hera, it takes a while to make these dresses. Please just trust me on this." He had kissed my forehead, and as much as I had hated it, I had to pretend that I loved him, so I caved.  
"Fine, but you owe me for this."  
Now, here I was, getting tool and satin hemmed onto a basic dress template that was on me for some reason. I rolled my eyes and huffed, blowing some of my bangs out of my eyes. I looked down at the seamstresses, all of whom seemed afraid of me, tiny hands trembling. I attempted to make conversation with some of them.  
"How do you all like living in Auradon?"  
They all looked at me with hollow eyes, seeming shocked and afraid that I had talked to them. I waited for their response, making my red eyes look wider and more innocent. After seemingly realizing my guard was down, one of the girls, small and hair of a raven, answered.  
"I-it's fine... How are you liking it?"  
"It's quite a nice place, but it's not really my style, you know? Everyone's really... perky, and they all wear bright colors."  
"Well, people here _were_ raised differently from your people. We were taught to be nice to everyone, and you were taught..."  
"Oh, uh, nothing in particular, really. Just that if any of us disobey my mother, our heads will end up on her wall within the span of ten seconds." A look of sympathy flashed over the young girls' faces for only a few moments, as if seeing it wasn't worth feeling sorry for the child of a villain. One of the seamstresses, young with bright blonde hair, tied a final knot and offered me something that seemed close to a smile, but just fell short of its sincerity.   
"All finished. Would you like to see yourself in it?"  
I shook my head, red and black hair flying wildly.  
"I want to be surprised on coronation day. It will be a nice shock when it happens, I'm sure." The girls smiled at me, and allowed me to go change. Once I had slipped on a casual, red tee shirt, black, leather pants, and some white sneakers, I was free to leave. I walked out of the doors, bright light shocking me for a moment, seemingly knocking me back. I quickly recovered from the shock, however, and continued walking. I got close to the dorm rooms, when the phone I had been given buzzed in my back pocket. I pulled it out to see an urgent message from Mal.  
_**Ben just asked me out! Need major help! What do I do?  
**_I rolled my eyes and replied to Mal's text.  
_**You're expecting me to know about this stuff! Come on!  
**_I could practically _hear_ Mal's frustrated sigh through my phone. I put it back into my pocket and continued walking. Everyone seemed to want to get in my way, however, as Aline stopped me and pulled me into her arms, a hug for seemingly no reason.  
"Uh... Aline, are you alright?"  
"They want me to kill myself, Hera!" She wailed loudly, choking on tears. "They want me to die!"  
"Whoa, Aline! Calm down!" I peeled her off of me and looked her in the eyes. "Don't listen to them, okay? You have done _nothing_ wrong! You have no reason to kill yourself. Do you hear me? If you think you're all alone, just remember that you have me, Carlos, Jay, Mal, Evie, and Prince Ben, alright?"  
Aline nodded shakily and wiped her bloodshot eyes.  
"Okay, Hera. I'll try to be strong." With that, she walked away, heading into her room, probably to cry. I sighed, frustrated. Aline was really being driven to the point of insanity, and if we weren't careful, she would probably kill herself. I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders, and looked back in disgust as I saw it was Prince Jon.  
"What were you doing talking to Aline?" His voice was harsh and angered, as if it were some sort of crime.  
"She's having mental health issues. I'm helping her."  
"You can't be talking to her, Hera. She's crazy. If you're going to do anything with me, or any of my friends, you can't talk to her, understood?"  
_Stick with the plan, Hera. Stick with the plan..._  
"Understood, Jon."  
"Thanks, love." He kissed my cheek and walked away, and I was left there, disgusted and not sure what to do.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING!!! Character suicide incoming. Reader discretion is advised

I sat in class the next day between two kids I didn't know, but I knew that they were looking at me with distaste. One of them was male, and the other was female, both with darker skin than most people here. I glanced sideways at them and realized that they weren't looking at me at all, but rather each other, with looks of affection. Now I was attempting to control my vomit with the strange and foreign displays of affection. The bell rang, the teacher walked in, and the two people I was sitting between stopped staring at each other, much to my relief.   
"Alright, good afternoon. It's officially that wonderful time of year where we dissect pigs to learn about the structure of mammal's bodies." Some people groaned, others gagged, but I was sitting there in content. Finally, my urge to kill would be satisfied. "Now, you'll be working with the people in your group. Only one person has to to the cutting, but everyone must locate the various parts I will tell you to find. Later, we'll compare this with the organization of organs in human bodies, alright? Please distinguish your cutter, and then we will get started."  
I looked at the two on my right and left, and what they said astonished me.  
"I'd be willing to cut the pig."  
"I could always do it, if you want." I could only stutter through my next sentence, I was so shocked.  
"Wh-well, I-I mean, only if you guys want to..."  
"How about this:" the girl suggested, "you can cut off the head, Hera, then I can cut and open the body, and then Ray over here can find the organs. Does that sound good?"  
"Y-yeah. That would be great. Wow, I've never met anyone here who was interested in getting their hands dirty."  
"Well, I want to be a marine biologist..." the boy started.  
"...and I just have an interest in anatomy," the girl finished.  
"That's amazing. Now, you guys know my name, and I'm assuming who my mom is, but I have no idea who you two are, and if we're going to be slicing apart this animal together, I think I should at least know that."  
"Oh, well, I'm Rajah, daughter of Jasemine and Aladdin." The girl flashed me a pearly white smile that seemed to glow against her tanned skin.  
"I'm Raymond, but most people call me Ray." He stuck out his hand and I shook it. "I'm the son of Tiana and Naveen."  
The teacher came over and placed the tray with the baby pig and a few pairs of gloves on our table, and the three of us put the gloves on, then I got started. With one fowl swoop, I chopped the pig's head clean off, and then Rajah grabbed the scalpel, and was about to slice open the pig, when someone let out a loud scream, and we all raced over to the large windows. I had to push through people to see what everyone was staring at, and when I finally got to the front, I turned back around and raced to the stairs. I had never been so glad that this class was right under the roof in my life. After racing up the short flight of stairs, I kicked the door open and screamed.  
"Aline!"  
She turned around, her blonde hair a mess and her blue eyes bloodshot. She shook her head and stepped only slightly away from the edge.  
"Hera, what are you doing? Shouldn't you be off laughing with Jon and his friends?"  
"Aline, they aren't my real friends! I'm only... well, it's a long story, but if you come down, I'll tell you, I promise."  
"What would be the point of coming down? To be laughed at and scorned by everyone around me? Hera, I look around, and all I see is people laughing at me!"  
"Aline, not everyone hates you, and not everyone thinks you're stupid! Please, Aline, come down!"  
"Aline, I appreciate what you're saying, but you are the only one that cares about me. No one else does."  
"Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay do, I swear!"  
"They don't even know me!"  
"They've heard so much about you though, and they think your life is worth living, too! Please, just come down with me."  
"Hera, invisible support won't help." Aline began to back farther towards the edge.  
"Aline, please!"  
"No, Hera." She looked at me again. "I'm sorry."  
"No!" I raced towards the edge, but I was too late. She lept off the edge and barreled towards the ground, her bones crunching as she smashed against the ground.


	21. Chapter 21

The loss of Aline had done more to me than I thought, both mentally and with my relationships. I pretty much stopped interacting with people, I was excused from classes until I recovered, and my eyes were bloodshot from so much crying. I had no light in my life right now, with the exception of Carlos coming in every now and then and checking on me. It seemed whenever he wasn't here, Jon was, and he was being oddly supportive, despite the fact that he was the one that wanted me to leave Aline alone. I was suddenly seeing a softer side to him, and to be honest, it wasn't so bad. I think a part of me was falling for him, in fact. My life was only getting more and more twisted as the choice between Carlos and Jon became harder and harder to make.  
"...Hera? Hera, are you in there?" I blinked and looked over at Jon, who had been sitting with me for who-knows-how long.  
"Y-yeah, I'm in here. I'm just... thinking, that's all."  
"All right... let me know if you need anything." He kissed the top of my head and walked out. The minute the door shut, I burst into another fit of silent tears. I ripped out my notebook and began writing a poem.  
_Every step, every word, with every hour, I am falling in.  
To something new, something brave,  
to someone I have never been.  
I can't decide:  
what's wrong, what's right?  
Which way should I go?  
If only I knew what my heart was telling me!  
Don't know what I'm feeling... is this just a dream?  
Oh, if only...  
Am I crazy? Maybe we could happen...  
If only I could read the signs in front of me!  
I could find a way to who I'm meant to be...  
If only... if only...  
...if only...  
_I slammed my notebook shut and sighed. I couldn't stay in here forever. I had to get out eventually. I threw on a red shirt and black pants, then grabbed my bag and walked to the main school room. I was late to class, but Fairy Godmother seemed relieved that I had even come.  
"Hera! Oh, how are you feeling? No, no, that's the wrong question to ask... Just have a seat, dear. I was about to make a special announcement." I sat between Evie and Mal, who both smiled at me sadly. They couldn't understand what I was going through, but they could certainly sympathize. "As you know, this Sunday is Family Day here at Auradon Prep. And because your parents can't be here due to, uh, distance, we've arranged for a special treat." We all gathered around a small television that was on a rolling cart. Video feed of our parents came on, and they attempted to figure out the technology.  
"I don't see anything, nor do I hear."  
"Kids!"  
"Is it... is it... is it...?"  
"Press enter."  
"Can I see a remote? Is this thing on?"  
"Ugh, it's broken."  
"I hate electronic equip-" They noticed that we were on screen. "Oh!"  
"Evie, it mommy! Oh, look how beautiful. You know what they say: the poison apple doesn't fall far from the tree." I rolled my eyes at Evie's mother, trying not to look at mine.  
"Don't you mean the weeds?" My mother shot back.  
"Ooh, who's the old bat?"  
"This is Fairy Godmother," Mal cut in, gesturing towards the sweet woman.   
"Oh, still doing tricks with eggplants?" Maleficent shot at her.  
"I turned a pumpkin into a beautiful carriage," Fairy Godmother fumed.  
"You really couldn't have given Cinderella until one a.m.?" My mother asked snarkily. "I mean, really. What, the hamsters had to be back on their wheels?"  
"They were mice!" Mal and I helped Fairy Godmother into the background so we could talk to our parents.  
"Hi mom," Mal greeted sweetly.  
"Mal, I miss you!"  
"You children are never far from our thoughts," Carlos' mom smiled.  
"I got it," I whispered.  
"How long must mommy wait to see you?" I could tell what Maleficent was subtly trying to ask.  
"Um, there's this coronation coming up. Probably sometime after that," I answered, trying not to make what I was saying too obvious.  
"When?"  
"Friday, ten a.m."  
"Are you sure I can't see you before then? I don't know what I'll do if I can't get my hands on that magic wa- you, you little nugget."  
"I completely understand, mother..."  
"Carlos, is that a dog?" Carlos' mom pushed to the front to get a closer look, and I stood closer to Carlos, one hand resting on his arm. "It would make the perfect size for earmuffs."  
"He's the perfect size for a pet," Carlos shot back. His mother reeled a bit from his sudden response. "This dog loves me and I love him."  
"And FYI, your dog is _stuffed,"_ I finished. "So give it a rest!"  
"Ooh, burn," Jay's father laughed.  
"Oh, why don't you go sell a toaster you two bit salesman?"  
"People who talk to stuffed animals shouldn't throw stones!"  
"Well people who sell toasters shouldn't use mixed metaphors!"   
"Enough!"   
Fairy Godmother shut off the video feed and looked at all of our faces.  
"I'm so sorry," she apologized.  
"Thanks for the special treat," I sighed, the five of us walking over to get our bags.  
"Of course." We walked towards the door, but before we left, I stopped Mal.  
"M, what do you think our parents will do if we can't pull this off?"  
"They will be... disappointed in us, but ultimately proud of us for trying our best."  
"Really?"  
"No. I think we are definitely goners."  
"Yeah."


	22. Chapter 22

That night, we met in Carlos and Jay's room again, discussing the final plans for stealing the wand. But something about it seemed wrong this time. After all this time, we'd been convinced our parents were leading us in the right direction. However, now being around all these people who were kind and caring, I was beginning to question if being evil was really the right thing to do.  
"Okay, we all know what this looks like." Mal pointed to the plans she had drawn herself. "So it'll be up on the dais, under the beast's spell jar, and we'll be coming in from here." She pointed to a large set of doors. "Hera and I will be in the very front. You all will be up on the balcony."  
"Okay," I sighed. Mal seemed to know everything.  
"Carlos?" Carlos snapped his head up and looked at all of us.  
"Okay, so I'll find our limo, so we can break the barrier, and, uh, get back on the island with the wand."  
"Perfect. Evie?"  
"Yeah?" Mal held up something that looked like perfume in a bottle and handed it to the blue-haired girl.  
"You will use this to take out the driver. Two sprays, and he'll be out like a light."  
"Okay."  
"M?" She looked at me with eyes that seemed to hold something more than just determination to steal the wand. "You want to break Ben's love spell?"  
"Yeah. You know, for after. I don't... I've just been thinking, you know, when the villains finally do invade Auradon, and begin to loot, and kick everyone out of their castles, and imprison their leaders, and destroy all that is good and beautiful, Ben still being in love with me just seems a little extra... cruel." Mal sighed and waved her hand, shooing us away. I lingered in the doorway for a minute, looking at Carlos. He smiled lightly at me, then I walked away and into my dorm room, while Evie went into her's, and Mal went into the kitchen to make Ben's anti-love potion. I quickly collapsed into bed and fell asleep, not bothering to change my clothes.  
  
I woke up to the sun streaming into my red eyes. I rolled out of bed and flopped on the ground. There was a knock on my door, and I opened it to see Evie standing there, holding a makeup kit and a brush.  
"Evie, are you all right? You seem... distressed."  
"Today is family day, and Jon's probably going to want you to meet the king and queen. You need to look your best for them."  
"Evie, isn't what I normally wear fine?"  
"Nope! Now, let's get you changed and your hair and makeup done." Evie set down her things and began rummaging through my dresser and closet. She pulled out a red crop top that came off the shoulders, and a leather skirt that jutted out from my hips. She threw them at me and I raced to put the clothes on. After that, Evie pulled out a pair of knee high, heeled boots, and I pulled them onto my feet. Evie grabbed my arm and sat me down. She curled my hair, then put a headband between my bangs and the main part of my hair. She then slapped makeup on my face, then stepped back, allowing me to look in the mirror. I smiled wide, even though a part of me was worried I would smear the makeup.  
"Wow Evie... I look... like a girl. Thank you so much."  
"Anytime, H. Now, let's get out there and meet some people." She looped her arm through mine and giggled, leading me outside to the courtyard. Everything was brightly decorated and looked nice. I sighed and looked around at all the people. My eyes turned into slits, however, when I saw Aria and Audrey talking to each other.   
_They're more evil than we are... This is disgusting._  
"Hera!"  
"Mal!" I looked over at the purple-haired girl and followed her over to where Jon and his family were standing. As the king and queen saw Mal and I walk over, their expressions fell into ones of confusion and fear. I put on a fake smile and walked into Jon's arms.  
"Mal?" His mother asked.  
"Hera?" His father asked.  
"Uh, I want to introduce you to my parents," both of them said to their respective girls. I smiled at Belle and the Beast, greeting them warmly.  
"Hello," I smiled sweetly. "I'm Hera, from the island."  
"Ben and I were thinking they could join us for lunch."  
"Of course."  
"Any friends of Jon and Ben's."  
"Um, we actually came with our friends..."   
"Well, you should invite them."  
"Yes, because... the more the merrier."  
"Yeah, I'll go grab them," I smiled, then walked over to Evie, Carlos, and Jay.  
"Hey, the king and queen invited us to eat lunch with them. Would you three like to join Mal and I?"  
"Sure," Evie sighed, clearly dreaming of being with royalty for even an hour. Carlos and Jay merely nodded, and I walked back to the group.  
"They said they'd love to join us," I smiled as Jon took my hand. I resisted the urge to pull away.  
"How about a game of croquet before lunch?" The queen suggested.  
"Oh, I've never played before."  
"It's easy. You'll be great at it, I promise." I walked over Jon taught me how to play, touching me a little more than I would have liked, but I pretended it was fine. The game seemed to be going fine, until I hit a ball out of bounds. I giggled and raced over to get it, but I almost crashed into someone. I looked up to see a beautiful woman with red hair, and a man with black locks standing beside her.   
"I'm so sorry! I was so focused on getting the ball that I didn't notice I was about to crash into someone."  
"That's quite all right, dear," the red-haired woman smiled. She looked at me in confusion. "Now, have we met?"  
"No, I'm new here. I'm sort of a... transfer student."  
"Oh, I see."  
"Mom! Dad!" I looked over to see, of all people, Aria racing over to where we were standing. The pieces clicked into place and a shudder ran down my spine.  
"Hello, Aria darling." Aria hugged her parents, then turned around. When she spotted me, her expression fell to one of disgust.  
"Mom, dad, I don't think you want to be talking to this girl, unless you want your head chopped off and hung on a wall as a prize."  
"What do you mean, Aria?"  
"This girl is Hera, the daughter of the Queen of Hearts." Ariel shrunk back and looked at me in shock.  
"What are you doing here?" Her husband snapped. "Your kind doesn't belong here."  
"N-no. We're not all that bad."  
"I'm so thankful we haven't sent Melody here," Ariel sighed. I kept my anger down and looked at them with kind eyes. Carlos walked over and looked at me.  
"Hera, is everything all right?"  
"Uh, Carlos, this is Aria, Ariel and Prince Eric." He looked at them and smiled, but they seemed angry at him.  
"Stay away from our daughter, you two."  
"Please, we're not that evil."  
"All of you are raised the same. You're all more evil than anyone else. That's why your parents were put on the isle, that's why you were raised there, and that's why you're going to be stuck there as soon as the coronation is over."  
"I thought your people were supposed to be caring and kind. You're even more evil than my mother!" There was a loud commotion from our right, and when I looked over, I saw Evie spray Audrey's grandmother with the knock-out spray, causing her to collapse. I gasped and grabbed Carlos' arm. Aria looked at me with a snobby expression.  
"See what my parents mean? You will never change. You're villains: born to be evil and lose in life. You can't ever change. Give up, Hera, and go join Aline."   
Her words stung as she and her parents walked away, leaving me clinging to Carlos.


	23. Chapter 23

I quietly sat down at my lab table for biology, the mere mention of the class holding a negative connotation for me. Rajah and Ray didn't mention what had happened last time we were in this class, but rather offered sympathetic smiles to me and didn't say a word. Another fetal pig rested in front of us, smelling of rotting tomato sauce mixed with chocolate: a horrible combination. There were still about five minutes until the bell rang, and I thought they would pass silently, until a girl with tanned skin, chocolate brown hair, and a perfect face came over and fake smiled at me.   
"Are you going to cut off the head of the pig again, Hera?" My throat tightened as she kept speaking. "You really should. It's clearly all anyone from your family is good at."  
"Hey," Rajah started, "leave her-"  
"Shut it, nerd!" She turned back to me. "You should just go back to the prison you grew up in. There's a reason you low-life degenerates were kept there." She walked back to her table of ever-faithful followers and sneered at me. I bit back the tears forming.   
  
After what had happened at family day, all of the kids at Auradon Prep stayed far away from us. I guess there was this incident with Mal and Evie where Evie accidentally used the spray meant to knock out the limo driver to knock out Chad. Everyone looked at us like the freaks we all knew we were. I barely touched my salad, my stomach too knotted up. Carlos looked around to make sure Jon was nowhere in sight, then wrapped an arm around my shoulders. I sighed and scooted closer to him, feeling comforted by his presence. A person came over to our table, and I recognized him as the boy who had shown us around our first day here.   
"Listen, Evie, I want to talk about earlier today. I just-"  
"Doug!" A table of popular girls that I thought were our friends pressured him to come back over.   
"It's my fault, Doug," she murmured. "I'm sorry."  
"No, it's mine."  
"Doug!"  
"What?!"  
"Doug..." This time it was Evie who spoke his name.   
"I can't."  
"Okay..." Doug walked back to the table, only for Jane, Lonnie, Audrey, Aria, and Lindsay to walk over to us. Jane suddenly seemed to be the Queen Bee of the group.   
"How long do they think this will last?" Jane scoffed, looking from Mal to myself.   
"Mal and Hera are just the bad girl infatuation," Aria laughed.   
"Yeah," Lonnie agreed.  
"I mean, there's no way they would make villains queens." The girls all laughed and walked back to their table, when Mal whipped out her spellbook.  
"Beware, forsware, undo Jane's hair." She moved her fingers in the familiar motion, and soon, an ear-piercing shriek was emitted. Jane turned around to confront Mal, her hair back in its normal, boring bob cut.  
"There's a lot more where that came from." Mal kept her voice cool and threatening.  
"Excuse me, who do you think you are?"  
"Do I look like I'm kidding?" Jane sneered at Mal, but went back to her table without saying anything else. "I'm really looking forward to tomorrow. Let's steal that wand and blow this Popsicle stand."  
  
I paced back and forth in my pink room. I was nervous about tomorrow. Sure, I didn't care about Jon one bit, but he had high authority in this kingdom. In reality, he could do anything he wanted to me if I betrayed him.  
_No, Hera! If you keep thinking those things, you'll psych yourself out and not show up at all tomorrow. Mal still needs you.  
_Despite my best efforts, I couldn't even come close to being tired. I needed fresh air and space to think. Without considering other options, I opened up my window and climbed out, using the large tree underneath it to help myself climb all the way down. I found the small hedge area where I had first met Aline and walked all the way through to the center. There, a small pond with a tiny waterfall sat, surrounded by rocks and flowers. I sat down by it and looked up at the sky, smiling just a bit.  
"Hey, Aline," I whispered to the stars. " I know we never got a chance to have girl talk, but I need to talk to you right now." There was a small breeze, and it almost felt like Aline was next to me, listening. "I'm about to do something really bad, and I'm not sure if I should or not. See, if I do it, I could be putting the world in danger. But if I don't do it, I'll be putting my friends and I in danger. I know it seems like there's an obvious answer, but my friends are really important to me, and no one here has been very nice." Tears pricked the corners of my eyes and bit my throat like an army of angry dogs. "What should I do, Aline." I whipped around at the sound of footsteps approaching. I let out a sigh of relief when the source turned out to just be Carlos.  
"Hey, do you mind if I join you?" I shook my head and he sat down, so close I could feel his arm against mine. "Who were you talking to?"  
"Aline." Carlos seemed to understand and moved on. "Are you nervous for tomorrow?"  
"Of course. I'll be wearing a long dress! I'd be surprised if I didn't trip!" Carlos and I both began laughing, and after it died down, I rested my head on his shoulder and sighed.  
"I'm sure you'll look beautiful, Hera, and if you ever need anything, I'm in the next hall over."  
"Thanks, Carlos." I stood and offered him my hand. "Now let's go back to sleep. It's been a long day." He laced my fingers through mine and we snuck back to the dorms."


	24. Chapter 24

I was awoken early in the morning by Mal, hovering over my bed and looking more nervous than I had ever seen her in my life. I literally rolled out of bed and smacked onto the floor, red and black hair in all directions.  
"Hera, come on." Mal's voice was shaky, and yet it held its caring sternness. "We have to get ready for the coronation. They want us there early because the hair and makeup is going to take a while." I rolled around some more, the finally stood and followed Mal out of the room. The men and women in charge of attempting to make me look pretty yanked and tugged at my hair in various directions and slapped makeup onto my face from every angle, and even put it on some places of my face that I didn't know were supposed to have makeup on them, like my eyebrows, which they had decided to pluck, might I add. When they were finally done, my face and scalp were sore, my body was constructed into a tight binder, and my dress and gloves itched against my skin. 32  
"All right, Hera. Are you ready to see yourself?" One of the ladies asked me with a permanently etched smile.  
"In all honesty, no, but I know you're not going to leave me alone until I do." They turned me around and I looked into the full-length mirror, not wanting to admit that I was impressed. My hair was tired into a fully curled bun, wrapped around many times. My face, caked in makeup, looked perfect. Black lipstick matched the midnight eyeliner, and perfectly complemented the red eyeshadow. My dress just looked like a longer version of the one that I wear normally, minus the heart in the center, paired with black lace gloves. I nodded to show that they had done their job, then walked out to greet Mal. Evie had made her dress: made of a lavender material that was layered beautifully and matched her hair, which was pinned up against her head.   
"Wow, Hera. They made you look not as threatening," she joked.  
"I could say the same to you." We both chuckled, then our excitement faded into nervousness. "Mal, what if we can't pull this off?" Mal looked at me as if I had taken one of my mother's severed heads and sewed it onto my own neck.  
"What are you talking about, Hera? We're going to _rock_ this! And if we don't... we'll just never return home. Our parents are trapped behind the barrier anyways. If we stay here, they can't hurt us." I nodded, but I wasn't one-hundred-percent sure. Our parents were powerful, terrifying, unnatural beings. They would find another way to get out of there, and the first thing they would do when they did was come for all of us.  
"I trust you for now. But if anything goes south, I'm abandoning ship." Mal linked her arm with mine and we walked out to greet Ben and Jon for the procession. Mal's carriage would be in the front, and mine right behind. If anything went wrong, she would be too far away to help me at all, which worried me beyond belief. Jon looked at me with wide blue eyes.  
"Wow Hera. You look..."  
"Nice to see you're only being a good person when I'm attractive," I sneered at him, not ready to put up with this two-faced liar this early in the morning.  
"What? Hera, what's with the sudden hostility?" I sighed. _You have to keep the act up, Hera.  
"_I'm just tired, that's all. When I'm tired, I lash out at people for no reason."  
"Are you sure that's all?"  
_Of course that's not all.  
"_I'm sure. I'll be all right once I wake up in a little bit." Jon climbed up into the blue carriage, then helped me up into the vehicle. The seats were plush and quite comfortable, and my body easily sunk down in them. My slouching posture caused Jon to chuckle soft enough so that only I could hear it.  
"What?" I asked with a slight smirk.  
"Your slouching isn't very royal," he sat down and did the same, "but I think I can excuse that. Just until we arrive in town, though." I laughed at the sight of a prince, who usually seemed very royal and strict.  
"Alright, what are _you_ laughing about."  
"Oh, you know, just the fact that the prince of the entire kingdom is slouching, not sitting, mind you, next to the child of one of the most fearsome villains while she wears a dress and is generally not in the best mood."  
"It seems like something that would only happen in the movies, huh?"  
"The movies, or maybe even a story." The laughter died down, and the carriage began moving, following at a great distance behind Mal and Ben's. A constant, slightly irritating itch clawed at my brain, and I had to know. "Why did you choose me?" I couldn't stop myself from asking, even if I had tried.  
"I'm sorry... what?"  
"Why, out of all the pure-hearted, wonderful, pretty girls in your own kingdom, did you pick me?"  
"Pure-hearted? Wonderful? Pretty? I think we're talking about different people here, Hera. All these girls might seem all nice and perfect on the outside, but every single one of them is more evil than any of your parents will ever be, and it seems the ring leaders of all this horribleness are Audrey and Aria." I dropped my gaze and attempted to keep myself from crying, so my makeup wouldn't run and smear.  
"Everyone laughed when Aline killed herself. No one felt remorse. They acted like it around adults, but I heard what they were saying. They were saying that she deserved what she got, and some people even told me to go join her." I felt a hand touch mine and squeeze it. "I felt so helpless up there on the roof."  
"You weren't helpless. You tried to get her to come down. The words just fell deaf on her ears because she was so used to being insulted that she didn't believe any compliments she received." There was a silence that could have suffocated even the strongest of lunged people. "You know, Aline has a twin sister."  
"She does?" I looked at Jon with interest, completely forgetting the off-putting fact that he was holding my hand.  
"Yes. Her name is Ally. Even though her sister died, she looks at you with admiration because you tried to save Aline."  
"How come I didn't know about Ally."  
"She doesn't go to Auradon Prep. Her parents decided to send Aline there to see how things were. Something tells me that Ally won't be going here any time soon."  
"Well, Aline was also mentally unstable, so who knows."  
"How did you figure that out?"  
"The way that she acted and talked, and the way she looked at the world. It was pretty clear she was already mentally unstable by the time people started making fun of her, which only made things worse."  
"See, this is why I chose you."  
"What?"  
"You're labeled as the child of a villain, but you have a heart more pure than any one in this kingdom. You really are a good person, Hera, and that's why I chose you." He began to lean closer to me, but I pushed away and yanked my hand from his. I had made up my mind.  
"Jon, I'm really sorry. You're a good person and all, and I admire your persistence, despite my best efforts, but I don't love you."  
"What? Why, Hera? I thought that you..."  
"No. I had to act like it for the sake of my friends, but I've decided I don't want to be evil, and I've decided who I really love."  
"Who would that be?" I took a deep breath.  
"I choose Carlos." Jon seemed taken aback, but his shock eased into a supportive smile, hiding his sadness and anger.  
"As long as you're happy, Hera, I don't care who you choose. As long as you'll still accompany me to the coronation, but just as friends." I looked down and around at the rapidly moving carriage.   
"I don't think I really have much of a choice here," I joked. Jon laughed and we both sat up straight as we approached the town.  
_This is it._


	25. Chapter 25

The carriage rode through the streets, people crowding around the path that we were to follow. Every now and then, Jon and I would smile, or wave, but ultimately, we sat with stiff backs and plastered on looks of affection. Vague sickness washed over me as I looked over all of the people, far too happy and affectionate, falling at the feet of even just the mere prince. They clearly had no idea how evil their children truly were.  
"We're almost there," Jon whispered in my ear. "Just keep smiling and I'm sure the people won't notice how hard you're shaking." I looked down at my own pale hands to see them shaking as if they had their own earthquake going on inside of them.  
"Oh. I guess I'm more nervous than I though." I looked into his extremely blue eyes. "I'm not even the one getting crowned."  
"Hey, neither am I. I just really want things to go smoothly for my brother. He's going to be the king now, and there's this old superstition in our family that if you have a bad coronation, your reign won't be good, either."  
"R-really?" Guilt and nervousness flooded over me faster than I had wanted to, and the two emotions actually made me feel nauseous.   
"It's just a superstition, though. No one's really ever seen if it's happened." He looked at me and his expression dropped to that of concern. "Hera, are you all right? You look like you've seen a ghost or something."  
"I'm fine. I just... want things to go well for Ben, too. I'm sure he'll make a great king, though. Auradon doesn't have anything to worry about."  
"I really hope so. He got pretty shaken up on family day. Our parents blamed him for the incident with Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos. It made him think he wouldn't be a good ruler for a period of time."  
"Gosh... Even though I wasn't involved with the incident, I feel horrible. My friends aren't bad people. They just panicked because everyone was threatening them and telling them how horrible they were."  
"People did the same thing to you, Hera, but you remained more calm than they did. You really are a good person."   
_I have to warn him...  
_"Jon, I-" Before I could explain Mal's plan to him, the carriage stopped in front of a large, beautiful, perfect, white cathedral. I inhaled deeply, almost feeling intimidated by the magnificent structure. Jon climbed out of the carriage, then extended his hand to help me down. I took it with my own trembling one and carefully stepped down. People standing around the walkway's voices went from loud yelling and cheering to a slow, quite murmur. Everyone stared at me in awe and watched as I took careful steps, my arm linked in Jon's.  
"Everyone's looking at you," he whispered. "They think you're as beautiful as I know you are."  
"Now that they're watching, I'm likely going to trip. Be ready to catch me soon."  
"I'm sure you'll do fine."  
Despite what I had thought, I never tripped, and made it to my seat in one finally relaxed piece. Mal looked over at me and smiled just the tiniest bit, as if trying to assure me everything was all right. However, there was something else behind her eyes that told me something else was holding her back from going through with the plan. Jon's parents looked at me with slight disapproval, seeing only what everyone else saw: the child of a villain who was even more evil than her parents were. Prince Ben wouldn't even glance at me. People finished filing in, and a hush fell over the room, almost as if everyone were on a schedule of when to make noise and when to not. Fairy Godmother smiled all-too-brightly as she stepped forwards. Ben's parents bid him good luck and then stepped aside so that Fairy Godmother could finish crowning Ben.  
"Do you solemnly swear to govern the peoples of Auradon with justice and mercy as long as you shall reign?"  
"I do solemnly swear."  
"Then it is my honor and my joy to bless our new king-" A beam shot out from behind Fairy Godmother, a pale hand attached to the shimmering wand, finally free from its case. I looked at the source of the hand and gasped.


	26. Chapter 26

"Child, what are you doing?" Fairy Godmother reached out in attempt to wrestle her wand from Jane's hands. Everyone watched in awe as the scene unfolded.  
"If you won't make me beautiful, I'll do it myself." The wand was clearly more than she could control, but Jane kept a firm death grip on her mother's wand. "Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!" Another beam shot out to another random location.  
"Take cover," Ben's father cried. Ben grabbed Mal and tried to usher her away from Jane, but Mal broke free from his grip and managed to rip the wand from Jane. Everyone stepped back as Mal pointed the wand out in defense, tears forming in her green eyes. I raced up to stand behind her, and I looked up to the balcony to see Evie, Jay, and Carlos rush from their seats. Ben faced us and held out his trembling arm.  
"Mal, give me the wand." Evie, Jay, and Carlos emerged from the entry way, but stayed a good distance behind.  
"Stand back!" I cried. Jon joined his brother.  
"It's okay." Ben attempted to approach us, but Mal shouted louder than I had.  
"Ben, I said stand back!"  
"You really want to do this?"  
"We have no choice, Jon." Tears began welling in my eyes, too. "Our parents-"  
"Your parents made their choice. Now you make yours." I looked at Jon, whose eyes looked broken and hurt. I remembered everything I had enjoyed here: classes and being with my friends, meeting Aline and standing up for others. I feared my mother, but there were so many better things I could do if I was good.  
"I think I want to be good." Everyone looked at me in awe.  
"You are good."  
"How do you know that?"  
"I told you: because I'm listening to my heart."  
"I want to listen to my heart too," Mal squeaked out. The other three came and stood up on the platform with us, "and my heart is telling me that we are _not_ our parents." She turned to Jay. "I mean, stealing things doesn't make you happy. Tourney and victory pizza with the team makes you happy."  
"Yeah."  
"And you..." I turned to face Carlos, who stepped closer to me. "...scratching Dude's belly makes you happy. Who would've thought?"  
"And Evie... you do not have to play dumb to get a guy. You are so smart. And I don't want to take over the world with evil. It doesn't make me happy. I want to go to school, and be with Ben, because Ben makes me really happy. Us being friends makes me really happy. Not destroying things. I choose good, you guys."  
"I choose good, too"  
"I choose good."  
"There's not a doubt in my mind. I choose good."  
"Just to be clear, we're don't have to worry about how really mad our parents will be? Because they're going to be really, really mad."  
"Your parents can't reach you here," Fairy Godmother reassured Jay.  
"Okay then. Good."  
"Come on." Before we could do anything else, an all-too-familiar cackle filled the room. The windows shattered and through them burst Maleficent and my mother: the dynamic duo. Everyone screamed or gasped as they approached us.  
"We're back!"  
"It can't be..."  
"Go away, mother!" Mal shouted.  
"She's funny."  
"She means it!" I practically screeched. My mother looked at me with burning eyes, and only now did I notice how black and soulless they were.  
"Oh!"  
"I'm so... you're very funny," Maleficent deadpanned. "Here, wand me. Chop chop."  
"No!" Mal raised the wand. "Bibbidi-bobbidi-"  
"-Boo!" The whole world, with the exception of the five of us and the two parents, froze the minute Maleficent slammed down her staff.  
"Psych!" She eyed Ben's father and smirked.  
"Ooh... ooh, in another time, in another time." Mal's mother began singing to herself.  
"Evil like me, don't you want to be mean..." My mother crashed into a pillar on accident, not paying attention to what she was doing.  
"Ow!"  
"Oh. Oh, no. Someone needs to pluck their nose hairs." Mal's mom used her staff to poke at Fairy Godmother's nose. My mother's laugh sent a shudder down my spine. "Where shall we begin?"  
"Oh, I know. Why don't we start by getting rid of this?" My mother plucked the want from Mal's hands and handed it to Maleficent, who cackled evilly.   
"Perfect fit." Maleficent wove her way through the frozen people.  
"Oh, excuse me, pardon me, excuse me. The horns, the horns." As Maleficent and my mother got closer, I grabbed onto Carlos' hand, and Mal stood her defense on Ben, not wanting her mom to touch the prince. Both mothers took notice, but of course, my mother had to call me out on my feelings.  
"Aw...falling in love is weak... and ridiculous. It's not what you want."  
"You don't know what I want," I barked. "Mom, have you ever once asked me what I want? I'm not you!"  
"Oh, obviously."  
"I've had years and years and... years of practice being evil," Maleficent cut in. "You'll get there."  
"No I will not!" Mal fought back. "And I really wish you had never gotten there yourself!"  
"Love is not weak or ridiculous!"  
"It's actually really amazing!" My mother marched over and pried my hand away from Carlos', then grabbed me by the neck and held me close to her face. Her grip wasn't strangling me, but the distance between us was threatening.   
"I know one thing, young lady: you have no room for love in your life," she growled.  
"And now, I command wand to my hand!" Mal stuck out her hand and the shimmering stick flew from her mother to her, as if the wand had a magnet and Mal was metal. "Ha! It worked!"  
"I hardly think so. Frankly this is tedious and very immature. Give me the wand." Mal tightened her grip. "Give me the wand!"  
"Hold on, Mal." I looked over to see Carlos step forwards. "Maybe good really is more powerful than evil."  
"Oh please, you're killing me. Arf!" Clearly the bark was meant to intimidate Carlos, but all it really did was summon Dude, who jumped on Maleficent and began viciously licking her face. "Oh! Oh the breath! The breath! Get off me!" Maleficent let the dog down, not focusing on the five children. Jay seized the opportunity and lunched forwards, attempting to break Maleficent's staff. However, the woman caught him, and rendered him useless with her magic. She put a hand on his arm, then paused for a moment to feel his muscles. "Ooh, Gaston should be jealous." With a mere flick, she knocked him to the ground.  
"Way to go, Hercules," I scoffed.  
"Enough! You all will regret this!" A black fog enveloped the threatening woman, and green shimmered from within it. When she emerged, Maleficent had turned into the large and threatening dragon she had become in the stories from years ago. She spat fire at Jay, who quickly rolled and hid behind a pillar. However, Maleficent was persistent, and kept chasing after him. I broke free from my mother's grip and knocked her to the ground, then joined the others, who were running for cover.  
"Hurry, Jay!" I cried. "Hurry, hurry, hurry!"  
"Jay!"  
"Watch Jay!"  
"Jay, come on! Please, Jay! Jay!" He reached us just in time and joined the barrier. Evie stepped forwards and held out her mini-magic mirror.  
"Magic mirror, show your bright light!" A bright white beam shot out from the tiny pieces of glass, blinding Maleficent and knocking her to the ground.  
"Mal, can I borrow the wand for a second?" We both looked over at my mom, who was beginning to draw out the sword she kept with her. Mal handed it to me and I used the magic to summon one of my own.  
"Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!" A large steel sword appeared in my hand, and I gave the wand back to Mal. I shoved past everyone and ducked beneath the dragon, approaching my mother. She smirked and me and ran her fingers along her sword.   
"Do you really want to do this, sweetheart? We know who will win."  
"I'm defending everyone. I'd do this even if I knew I would die." I took the first swing and sliced off a piece of my mother's dress. She lunged and me and we began fighting, while I listened to the conversation between Mal and her mother.  
"Leave my friends alone!" The purple haired girl cried. I blocked an incoming attack and slashed again, this time missing. "This is between you and me, mother." I rolled to dodge another attack and managed to slice her arm when I came back up. My mother only paused for a second, then lunged at me once again. But fury, anger, and pain now blinded her, leaving me with the advantage. "The strength of evil is good as none, when stands before five hearts of one." I landed another blow, this one to her leg. My mother was beginning to slow down. "The strength of evil is good as none when stands before five hearts of one. The strength of evil is good as none when stands before five hearts as one!" I knocked the sword out of my mother's hand and used both of them to pin her against the wall, cold steel just surrounding her neck. The dragon let out a loud screech and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Everything became bright again, and Fairy Godmother began moving again. Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos raced up to her, but were stopped in their tracks by something on the floor.  
"What just happened?"  
"I have no idea."  
"Did you do it?"  
"I don't know." Fairy Godmother raced over to them.  
"No, no, no, no, your mother did. She shrank to the size of the love in her heart. That's why it's so itty-bitty." I looked over to see a small lizard on the floor. Mal and Fairy Godmother crouched down.   
"Is she going to be like that forever?"  
"Well, forever is a long time. You learned to love, so can she."  
"This is touching and all, but I have a much more threatening problem over here, so if someone could help me, it'd be much appreciated." Two guards raced up to me and I removed the swords restraining my mother so that they could grab her. I looked her right in her eyes and smirked.  
"What's that thing you're always saying, mother? Oh right! Off with your head." I walked over to meet my friends and they smiled at me. Mal handed the wand to Fairy Godmother.  
"I believe this belongs to you." Fairy Godmother reached down to pick up a small ring.  
"And I believe _this_ belongs to you." Mal slipped on the ring and the two of them stood up. "You all have earned yourselves an 'A' in Goodness Class." We all chuckled and Fairy Godmother used the last of her magic to free everyone else.  
"Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!" A roar escaped from Ben as he raced forwards. Mal stopped him with her hands and he looked around in confusion.  
"Oh, okay, okay. We kind of got this all wrapped up here." The boy looked at Mal for a moment, then picked her up and spun her around once.  
"Next time I rescue you, okay?"  
"Yeah, let's not let there be a next time." They hugged each other, then Mal tilted Ben's crown slightly. They both chuckled, and she looked over to her left.  
"I will be right back."  
"I love you," Fairy Godmother wagged her wand at Jane, "but you are on a major time-out."  
"Don't be too hard on Jane." Mal rested her hand on the mother's shoulder. "I was the one who put all that crazy stuff in her head." She took Jane's hand. "You are beautiful. Inside and out. Your mom got that right."   
"I guess I did get pretty lucky in the mom department."  
"Yeah, I guess so." Jane and her mother walked away, revealing Audrey standing in front of Mal. I tensed up at first, until I saw the genuine smile on Audrey's face. Mal curtsied and they both laughed. I noticed someone placing a glass case over Mal's lizard-mom and motioned to them, getting her to notice.   
"Hey! Careful. That's my mom." Everyone laughed and the man bowed, then walked away in embarrassment. Mal walked over to the rest of us.  
"All right!" Jay broke the silence of the group. "Let's get this party started." I noticed Jon smiling at us, and I broke free from the group.  
"You guys go ahead. I'll be with you guys in a moment." I walked over and smiled at him.  
"You just impressed me all over again." I laughed. "Carlos is really lucky."  
"Uh, thanks?" I was just a little confused as to what he was referencing. "And I'm sure whoever chooses you will be even more lucky. And I'm sure you'll make a great king one day." We both hugged, and I turned to leave, but was stopped by Aria, wearing a long, sparkling, green dress.   
"Hera... I'm really sorry about everything I said to you. I was just jealous of how much attention you got. I... feel really bad. And I feel even worse that I made Aline kill herself. Can you... ever forgive me?"  
"Aria, I can't completely forgive you... but how about we start over as neutral people who have just met?"  
"Yeah, sure." I stuck out my hand.  
"I'm Hera."  
"Nice to meet you, Hera. My name's Aria."  
"Likewise." We both broke out into a fit of giggles.  
  
I sat on the bench, looking up at the sky, filled with fireworks. I had changed into a red, strapless dress with bows on one shoulder and the bottom of the skirt part, which jutted out on its own. A sigh escaped my lips, when Jon.  
"You really just don't give up, do you?" I laughed, smiling at him.  
"This is different, princess."  
My entire body froze at the mention of that nickname. _Princess... princess... No... no, no, no..._ I could feel my breath speeding up as I looked back at Jon, trembling.  
"Whoa, Hera, are you okay?" I couldn't respond to him, instead just waiting for someone to rescue me. And thankfully, Carlos came over and saw my paled face and trembling figure.  
"Hera, would you like to go dance?" He took my hands and squeezed them, trying to calm me down.  
"Sure," I stuttered. We walked over to where everyone else was dancing. As I moved to the beat of the music, I felt myself starting to calm down, and the panic passed. I glanced over at Mal, who winked at me, and I smirked. Her eyes glowed just a bit, and I turned back to Carlos and nodded. He knew what I meant.  
_You didn't think this was the end of the story, did you?_


End file.
